Ginga: Nagareboshi Akatora
by Einmanaleiki
Summary: Phineas and Ferb cross over wtih Ginga. Follow the puppy Akatora Phineas 's journey from a puppy to an adult dog and document his struggles. A group of feral dogs travel all over Japan to find worthy males to fight in their battle against a demon bear, Akakabuto. All of the main three are dogs, and will be in here, as well as most of the real Ginga characters.
1. Genesis Of GingaAkatora

Enjoy this fanfic with all your heart and soul. * Fuji= Peerless. Shiro= White.  
I do not own any of the characters, the plot, or the name. They all belong to their rightful owners. I would not be writing this fanfic if I did own them though.

The freezing winter snow was blasting against the trees as a January storm worked its way through the Futago Pass in Japan.

A man and his dog ran through it after a bear. You see, fellow readers, these were professional bear-hunters. Yes, the dog too.

The gray and white Akita Inu dog was barking up a storm, (get it? Storm?!) but it was softer against the width of the blizzard.

"What is it, Shiro*?" The aging hunter asked his bear-dog in a deep, gruff voice.

Shiro, the cleaver canine, kept barking until he stopped at a large shadow that was ahead of them.

He too, soon saw the gigantic dark mass that was the object of his dog's attention.

A loud screaming roar sounded out from behind them.

They both turned around to see a large bear with a red back soaring at them from the trees. The bear threw its mighty claws their way and slashed the hunter, tearing his ear off. The man was tossed into the snow in a splatter of his own spilled blood.

Mighty Shiro leaped at the attacker and bit its muzzle, knowing that it was a weak spot for the bear. Any place around it's thick face was the great spot to aim for. It was like instinct for a real bear-hound.

The bear backed up and roared in rage and distress. The man got up and aimed his gun at the bear. "Hang on, Shiro!" He said to himself, and shot the bear's right eye.

The animal screeched in pain and backed up, swinging it's large hairy arms through the whiteout. With Shiro still on it's face.

Sensing a danger zone, the dog let go and the bear fell right off a cliff as its screams died out from hearing range.

Ginga: Nagareboshi Akatora (Silver Fang: Meteor Red Tiger)

Chapter one: ( Dun Dun Du Du Duh!) The mountains are Calling, The sky is Calling!

Heat was waving all around the yard that boiling summer day, and it was hard to do anything. Nobody could go out in heat's rage without getting tired or hot. That is why there was not much commotion that day, which was rare, given where they were at the moment.

Everybody was still, and doing something either in the shade or inside. It had never been this hot in Danville in a very long time, and it was not a thing to be enjoying.

A piece of laminated paper blew across the floor via a fan in a kitchen. A woman with flaming orange hair picked it up and stared at it for the fifth time, dreaming about how nice it must be up there, without the heat.

Of course, the piece of paper was a brochure to the Futago Pass, in Ohu, Japan.

"Soon we'll be there, skiing down snowy mountains and having the time of our lives in Japan." A man behind her said. She turned and smiled at him. "Have we packed enough?" She asked him. "We have packed just fine. Enough to last us a month there." He said.

Everything seemed to be going fine for these two, but upstairs, things were just the opposite. A mouse clicked and the site that was on the computer screen vanished and turned into another page. MOSA. It read at the top.

"Large black bear. It is known that it is missing a forelimb and shocked many villagers, killing some as well."

The reader of this article was having second thoughts about going on this trip right about now.

This bear, Mosa, was in Japan, near where they were going. She shuddered and thought about how the people were just hikers, maybe some were tourists, like they were. She was not going to end up like they did, not now. If you did not know this, her name was Candace Flynn.

She clicked to the next page, where there was yet another black bear, this time named Madara. His named meant Spotted or Speckled.

This bear had eight bullets in his stomach, and he was also a killer bear, that lived in the woods near them. She gulped and moved the small white arrow toward the red X, but something caught her attention. It was a small blue box that held the words, "Bear named Akakabuto str-.."

That was all that could fit in the small icon. She clicked the tag and another article popped up, with a grizzly bear there. On the top, in loud gothic red letters read AKAKABUTO. She looked at the drawn picture of a large deep brown grizzly with a crimson red back.

It had its jaws open in a nasty snarl and thick white saliva was running down its chin. Its right eye was missing, clotted blood gathering around the empty socket.

However, the left one was glowing red, like the letters up in front. She read on about this bear, and that Akakabuto meant Red Helmet.

He was a killer bear, and that he had his eye shot out by a man named Takeda Gohei. He was with his bearhound named Shiro.

Shiro was the best hunting dog there was in Ohu, as well as another Akita Inu named Yamabuki* who was also used for hunting. What bothered the young girl is what and how these things hunted.

Never had she seen anything so brutal and wild, having such a beast-like way of life that was their nature.

They fought with their prey in bloody, intense sometimes, battles and killed those animals with their bare fangs. And they were proud that they did that as well.

One picture showed Takeda holding a dead fox with about a soaked bite wound at it's neck and a gunshot hole in it's side.

Next to him Yamabuki, who was holding a rabbit in her white jaws, a proud gleam in her eyes. The next showed the same man, and with a large bear carcass slung across his back.

Next to him was that large white bear-hound Shiro, looking stern as ever, even dignified in a way.

Anyone would have been impressed with this smart, brave canine. But to Candace, who had never had anything to do with hunting and killing animals using a gun and dogs, and she hoped she never would, thought that he too was proud with his kill.

Far too proud to her. She continued the part about the bear, now despising those hounds, especially Shiro. How could they murder helpless animals, and be proud of the blood flowing from in between their teeth.

But that was the least of her worries. What came after that petrified her. In the article, just after the photo of the dogs, was about the Akakabuto.

This demon bear lived in Futago Pass, Ohu. He does not hibernate, meaning that he was awake in the winter, which was NOW in Japan, and he just killed humans, and maybe ate them too in his insane rabid craze.

She rapidly slammed the lid down on the laptop, nearly breaking the screen and making a poster fall from the wall, and ran downstairs to warn her parents of the devil in the Japanese mountains.

Outside in the shade of a tree, two boys were resting. They were leaning tiredly against it's large trunk. One opened his eye and stared out at the yard with a gaze that could only be noted as unseeing. A blind, tired stare at the place that he called home.

Just after that, he closed it again savoring the rapture that came to his stinging eye, too tired to care about the yard's emptiness. Not one made a movement or a noise for a few minutes.

One spoke to the other, but was staring quite bored out at the lawn. "Eeeyup." He said, nodding a little, (which came with a strain) but then nothing. "Eeeyup what?" The talked-to replied, whose name was Phineas.

There was no answer at first, but then the reply came. "As in "Eeeyup it sure is a hot day".

Nothing.

"Yeah." Was the next answer.

Usually things did not go like this, but since this was the day of the heat wave, this was exciting as it gets. Other people would come over to them, and wonder what they were going to do that day. They did come, but did not stay for long. No more talk went around for the next ten minutes, mostly because the two were lost in thought. Both were thinking the same thing: When will they be going?

Neither made a move to get up, and if someone had told them to, there would be major, yet slurred protest.

And this was just because they just didn't want to. The red-haired boy began to think about that. How calm and quiet, nice even to just by laying in the sun, thinking nice things.

He sighed, thinking about heat, about how he knew why cats liked this and thought about how it would be like to be a cat. To hunt, and prowl with glowing eyes in the cool night air, to sleep all say in the warm, cozy sun and come and go as pleased. Eating came from a bowl and from mice and bugs, maybe he would get into a good scrap with a brother. (Meaning other cat).

The kitchen was certainly much louder than out there, and the show was going a little like this.

"There's this really big man eating bear, and his name's "Aka-ka-ka-butso" or something like that, and he had his right eye shot by a person named Takeda. And he's got the two really nasty mean killer dogs who murder other animals for sport, but that's not the point! This bear lives in the Futago Pass!"

Her mother rolled her eyes and gave an optimistic answer. "We are not going to be eaten by bears. The trail is open, and if there was a real man eating bear there, the pass would have been closed off due to wild animals. But that probably was just a fake made up to scare people who may be going. And those dogs? They're probably hunting dogs; they are supposed to kill game for their masters. Takeda most likely is a bear hunter, and those are bear dogs. Now don't worry."

And with that, she walked out of the room to end the conversation.

Candace stood there, thinking about those bears, and the hunting hounds. To her, Shiro and Yamabuki were still killers.

Day came to afternoon, and the shadows of the setting sun gave way to the warm and soft night, one filled with crickets and thick invisible weight, a gravity pulling down on those who did not have a fan to ward it off.

Not one of the three kids slept through the night. Candace, because she was worrying about bears, particularly Akakabuto. The other two were just plain too hot. (Phineas was thinking about mouse-hunting to test out his cat theory, but decided against it, knowing that he wouldn't want to make the tough move of getting up).

Even though the fans were on, nothing could let them fall into a sleep. Not even the bright glaze of the moon showering it's light upon the quiet, tired town.

The overcast of insomnia lasted the night until the cracks of dawn made their way to the town, and soon, the airline trucks came by.

Ginga: Nagareboshi Akatora/ Ch. 1/ Soon: Ch. 2 /  
The Mountains are calling,  
The sky is calling,  
Someone is waiting, in the far off distance.  
Shining vividly, brave blood is flaming.  
And so now you know why you were born.  
Run and Run!  
Run and Run!  
Become one with the wind and run!  
So go ahead, exceed what you did the day before today.  
Strike down and challenge and evil greater than yourself.  
You were right, youth is like, a shooting star, that doesn't burn out.


	2. A Released Decision

Ginga: Nagareboshi Akatora

(Silver Fang: Meteor Red Tiger)

Chapter Two: A Released Decision

Eventually, after what seemed like days of endless flying, the destination was reached. And the place was crowded. Everybody was running around and/or doing something.

Each one of the small family went off on their own to explore, but each individual acquiring a map so not to get lost.

Phineas and Ferb finally decided to go over to a ski lift and watch the people who came and went for a moment. Soon after, a couple of young boys came over to them, ready for skiing, the two supposed.

The one on the right began to speak to them. "I haven't seen you two around lately. You are visiting?" He asked. They nodded their heads. The kid looked at them pleased.

"Well, my name's Daisuke. And this is my friend, Shinji!" Daisuke says happily. Shinji greets them and waves, both boys in turn wave back and smile.

They conversed for a moment and then walked around a bit. Daisuke was the son of the man who owned the ski lodge and trails. That was pretty big, for them to have met a boy with that position.

He also has a dog named Yamabuki, who was going to have her puppies soon.

"She used to hunt bear and other game with Grand Father, but she retired when we found out that she would have puppies."

The two boys commented on the great news from Daisuke and they continued on. As they were walking, they passed a dog run that had two hounds in it.

The crowd stopped to look. Daisuke leaned in the small building and looked around, as if searching for something, his boots balanced on the side of the wooden gate.

"Shiro's not here. He must be out on a hunt with Grand Father." Shinji nodded behind him.

"Your grandfather had taken your dog hunting? What do they hunt?" Phineas asked. "Lots of things, but mostly bear." Daisuke replies. "And he's not our dog. He's Grand Father Takeda's dog." Daisuke explains to him.

"Shiro's the best hunting dog there is in Ohu, and it is said that he has taken down large bear before!" Daisuke's friend says gleefully.

After a while, Daisuke and his friend said their good byes and headed of toward where they were going earlier.

While they were going up the ski lift, they began to talk between themselves. "Daisuke, your dog Yamabuki, she will have her puppies soon right?" His friend asked him.

He turned around with a smile. "Ah, yes. Only 2-3 days to go now my father said. Grandpa Takeda's bear-hound Shiro is the father."

As if he appeared by magic with the mention, they then saw Grand Father walking along the trail below them.

"Is that Grandpa Takeda?" Shinji asked Daisuke. "Yeah!" He said to Shinji.

"And Shiro's with him! Where's he going with that gun on his shoulder?" Takeda stared up at them with a dark glare. "That guy's scary when he's angry." Shinji said to him. "He doesn't scare me!" Daisuke replied confidently.

He leans over the rail of the seat and shouts a message to Shiro. "Shiro! Yamabuki's gonna have her puppies soon! Your pups!" He yells to Shiro.

The grey dog whines back up at him. Daisuke sat proud and tall, until another voice shouted back at him. "Daisuke! Shut your mouth!" Daisuke jumps back in surprise. "Aiee! Darn… the village leader is with him!" He says to himself.

Gohei Takeda was 67 years old. But even now, he is still strong and capable of taking down strong bears. He's the only person in the village who hunts with bear-hounds. He's skillful with a gun, but drinks too much at times; he often takes the villagers out on bear hunts.

The head hunting dog was Shiro. He's 8 years old and still as intelligent and strong as ever. The other two in the shed were Aka, a 4 year old, related to Shiro. Don, a 3 year old who just follows sometimes.

"He may be off to hunt." Daisuke said. "He and Shiro usually go to shoot rabbits and birds." His friend looked at the group and then back at Daisuke.

"He's not alone now." Shinji informs him. Daisuke thinks for a moment. "Maybe he's going to kill Akakabuto." He says to him gravely. Five years ago, Grandpa Takeda's left ear was torn off by the giant bear, Akakabuto. Akakabuto was named this because of a red line of hair down his back. He's different than other bears.

His size is giant, alike a type of giant bear called a "Higuma." Shiro defended Gohei with all of his strength. Gohei held his position and fired! The bullet went directly into the right eye, piercing his brain. After the shot, Gohei began to fade away… Shiro was smashed to the ground.

*Yipe!*

After the wound was inflicted, Akakabuto went into a riot. He fell from a cliff into a river below.

"Did the bear die?" His friend asked him. "Yup, that's right. Or, that's what they told us.

He must be dead; the bullet destroyed his nerve system. He missed hibernation. He stayed out all winter." They zoomed down the large hill and began to turn to another subject, but Daisuke then thought he had to leave. "Sorry, I got to go. I'm worried about Yamabuki. I have to see if she has given birth yet!" His friend waved to him and went back to the ski lift for another round.

Later, the other pair was roaming around the woods, thinking about the dogs that were talked about. "I have a feeling that we can find the Shiro quite easily. He has to be around here somewhere." Phineas said to his brother. Just as he said that, loud shrill barking sounded and footsteps could be heard. They smiled at the sound. "I think that's him." He said, and the two took off into the direction of the sound.

The large white and grey akitadog barked at the slender, furry white form that dashed into a bush. He growled at it and looked back at Gohei for a short moment. He stared back at the dog and then fired his gun at the bush.

A grey fox came out of the shrubbery and dashed away, but Shiro kept on its tail. He barked as he flew out after it with speed and agility.

He then could even run next to it in a matter of seconds, still barking. The two boys were running in the brush to keep out of sight, but keep up as well, which was hard to do, Shiro was really fast!

Finally, the hunter Shiro took a lunge at the stubborn fox and it yelped, still scrambling to get away from it's attacker. But soon it was laying limp and at his feet. Grand Father and the other villager came up to him, and then picked up the fox. "Good work, Shiro." The man said to his dog in a gruff voice. A piece of meat was tossed to the dog, who ate it vigorously.

The two watched the dog in awe, as it sniffed around more. Then, the dog lifted its head up and stared at them for a moment. With a proud, and almost fatherly gleam in its eyes, it trotted away. The watchers left, now with a plan in their heads. "That must have been Shiro; he even called him that by name." One of them said to the other.

They were walking back to the town, talking about the dog that they had seen. "I wonder what it's like to be a dog, like Shiro there." Phineas said to his brother. He nodded. Suddenly, he had an idea, like always. "Ferb, I know what we're gonna do today!" He says excitedly.

"No!" Came a voice from behind. Candace stepped out from behind a group of large snow caked pine trees, a glare on her face. She was hiding from Akakabuto.

"Your, err, thing may attract HIM." She says. Her two brothers exchanged glances and looked back. "Who's Him?" One asked.

"AKAKABUTO! That's him! The giant killer bear!" She said to them in a hurried voice. "I'm not sure that it's going to attract wild killer bears, and I hope it doesn't." Phineas said to her. "Would you like to be a dog with us?" He asked her. She glared at him. "How can I think about being a dog at a time like this?" She asked gravely in a hushed voice.

She looked to her right, and stared, but then went back into the woods. The two shrugged and went to building their newest invention. In just about a half an hour later, they were ready to be canine mammals. But they were interrupted by a gathering of the family.

They were told that they could go anywhere they wanted, but as long as it was still in the Futago pass range. They all separated then, each going off on their own. At the same time, Shiro and Grand Father were hunting bear, and Daisuke was back skiing. So, they branched off on their own and did their own thing.

Candace was walking on her own, as were the rest, but she was thinking despise on Shiro and Yamabuki.

From atop his perch, a large mammal looked down at her. It scratched its enormous claws against the tree.

~This girl was alone. And the pain was still there. Akakabuto could feel it in his aching body, that THIS was the one that caused him the pain. It was mainly Grand Father, yes, but maybe she was his aid, and that she had planned his pain and gave it to him. He now hated this girl. She gave him pain, and now he shall give her the same thing.~

He stalked her, and a bit of snow fell from a tree. Candace looked around, aware, but not of the bear near her. A crushing sound was heard behind her.

Upon turning, Akakabuto jumped out of his hide and roared with much ferocity and leaped in the air. Luck it seemed. Akakabuto, having only one eye, missed and went the wrong way. His gigantic paws shook the ground, and he roared in the frightened girl's direction. Saliva dripped from his mouth like a waterfall.

In the distance, Shiro could hear roaring. He galloped after it, sure that it was Akakabuto, his and the villagers sworn enemy.

Candace was frozen in fear at the sight in front of her. Akakabuto was real! And he was HERE! Ha, and mom said that we won't be attacked by a bear. But she was wrong! She was very wrong, and because of that, she was going to be killed by her worst fear: Akakabuto. Tears leaked from her eyes as her life flashed before her eyes. Akakabuto rose on his back legs and roared. She shut her eyes tight as she held tight and stood her ground.

Although her mind told her to run, it was some impulse that kept her still. After the becoming aware that she was not sprinting for her life, her bravery began to return. AS if she were accepting her death. Not afraid? Not even of death? The fighting spirit had began to stir.

Just then, a white flash came out from behind her and bit Akakabuto's muzzle. He roared at the white dog that he remembered, it was Shiro. And so the fight began.

They swatted each other back and forth, and then Shiro let go. Takeda came and grabbed her shoulder and aimed his gun at the bear. He shot, but missed. Yet it had made Akakabuto fall off a cliff, and sadly, with Shiro pinned in his jaws. The roaring died out of range as they fell deeper and deeper.

But one sight that only Candace saw, was the look in Shiro's eyes. As if her were speaking to her himself, all of the hatred to hunting dogs leaving and being replaced with admiration.

His eyes told her everything, like his famous last words. 'Become strong and brave, avenge me and the villagers and slay this monster!'

The village leader came and was handed Candace. She looked back at the battle area, the snow stained pink with blood of her hero. "Shiro." She said quietly. Her thoughts about huntingdogs were changed. The village chief led her out of the woods and back to the town.

The two walked in, followed by Takeda shortly later. Her mother gave her a bone crushing hug when she heard that she was confronted by a bear. "I'm fine." Was all she said. She thought about Shiro then. He had saved her. She owed him. She will become one with the dog and avenge Shiro, if it were the last thing that she do.

She will kill that bear. Now sworn enemies with Akakabuto, she let her courage lead her to the first step of avenging Shiro.

She tore away from the group and dashed to where the boys were and their invention. The real warrior's soul has awakened, and the fight has only just begun.


	3. The Justice Of The Three

_**Ginga: Nagareboshi Akatora**_

_(Silver Fang: Meteor Red Tiger)_

Chapter Three: The Justice of the Three

She soon met up with her brothers who were at their machine, which was in an old shed. They did not realize that she was there until she spoke up. "I'll do it." She said to them. They jumped a little and looked at her, and realized what she meant. "Well, good job!" Her brother said to her shaking her hand. "Come on! I'll show you what to do." He says to her. She follows him as they get to the back of the shed, where a large contraption is sitting. She looked at it, and wondered what to do next.

"What now?" Candace asked her brothers. "Well, you stand here, and you press this green button, and the thing will scan you, and after that, you'll shape shift into a dog!" Phineas said proudly. She pushed past him and stood on the glass stand. "Well, you're anticipated. Go ahead and press the button." Phineas says, and Ferb nods. She reaches her hand out to the green button, but holds it in the air for a moment.

She looks at the ground, and then jabs her hand of the button. A green light came over her and scanned her. Her hands turned into paws, her ears were pointy and short, and she grew a tail and muzzle. Her fur was deep red and white. When she got off, she was a red and white Akita Inu dog. Otherwise known as a Bearhound.

The other two repeated the process, and Phineas was turned into a lighter red and white Akita Inu hound, a pup, and Ferb was an olive green German shepherd. They turned around to talk to Candace, but she was gone.

Candace was running through the streets of Futago, and searching for Grand Father Takeda Gohei. He would take her on a bear hunt and she would avenge Shiro, and then she would turn back into a human, and go home satisfied.

She found him in a shed. Candace barked at the door and he answered it to find her. Takeda looked down at her awe struck. Another Akitadog? It must be sent from the heavens, meaning that this akitadog will replace Shiro and he should continue to hunt Akakabuto. He looked around and then took the dog inside. Was this dog trained? Probably not. He grabbed a stick and spoke to her.

"A girl? You will not do." He said gruffly. He only used male hunting dogs, the female were used for breeding. But maybe this spirit dog was some dog that may be used as a good hunter. He raised the stick and talked to her again. "Listen up, Spirit Dog. I am serious. Show me that you are serious as well." With that, he raised the stick and whacked it on her. She did not flinch but looked up at his seriously.

He hit her many times after that, but she did not flinch a bit. He stared at her surprised. "You really are strong. Not a dog I ever trained did this." He says to her. She stares back. He takes out a bronze bowl and dumps bear meat in it and give it to her. She sniffs it and stops for a moment, but eats it anyway. He stared at her in awe, and wonder. Never a dog did this. He patted her and thought about Akakabuto. "You know Akakabuto?" She lifted her head up and growled, but it turned into a whimper. "You do?" He asked her. She barked at him.

"My last dog, Shiro, was killed by him. You, Spirit Dog, I think have been sent down to replace Shiro, and help me kill Akakabuto. Will you endure this short training and help me?" He asked her. She barked and wagged her tail at him. "But first, you need a name." He says to her. He studied her and gave her the perfect name. "Your name will be Riki, which means strength, in which you have a lot of." She stared in approval at him. And so they began their training.

Daisuke came in and looked at the dog. "Wow, you got a new dog? Cool." He says. Riki looks at him and then back at Gohei. He tells Daisuke about Riki and he goes to tell later. "Hey that kinds looks like Fuji. Wait I minute, Fuji! She may have given birth! I got to go, Grandpa." He leaves to get to the ski lodge.

That was where the two boys were headed as well. They went inside of a shed and saw a tan and white akitadog. She had just had her puppies. "Oh, sorry. I didn't know that you were…err, yeah." Phineas says to her. Fuji smiled at them and spoke. "That's alright. Who are you? Where are you from?" Fuji asks them both. "Well, I'm Phineas, and this is Ferb." He says, gesturing to his brother.

"We were on-" He was cut off when Daisuke came in. Both their ears went up and they ducked behind a large haystack. Daisuke cheered and ran back out of the room. Fuji looked back. "That's Daisuke. He's my owner." They took in her advice.

In the ski lodge, Daisuke was rushing around and carrying a bowl of hot water and a towel back and forth. "Why is he rushing around like that?" A person asked. "Well, it is a tourist house." A girl answered.

Daisuke popped his head out from behind a corner and called excitedly to the people. "Aaah! They're here! Mother! Fuji did it!" The people looked over at him, wondering what happened to Fuji. Everybody followed him to the shed and tried to get a look. Daisuke was more excited than ever. "Mother! Quickly get in here! Quick Mom! Come on!" He called over his shoulder.

The two uninvited guests at behind the stack were listening into the conversation. The shepherd made a move for the door. The red and white akitadog Inu looked back at his brother.

He whimpered. The shepherd walked tiredly back and uncomfortably. "Wow, three of them!" A person in the crowd said. The Akitadog wagged his tail and accidently came out from behind the haystack, sensing no danger. His brother paced then. Daisuke looked up. "Huh?" He came out fully to show himself. The German shepherd set his paw on his face.

Facepaw. "A red and White Akitadog!" He called. He ran over to it and jumped on its back. Everybody watched. Watching this spectacle, the shepherd dashed out and away. If he had to be someone's pet, it wasn't going to that kid. However, the other dog was thinking otherwise. Daisuke was happy to get his own bear hunting hound, and very to see that this one was just like Grand Father's!

Red and white akitadog are rare, and even more so if they really were red, just like this dog here.

"Careful, Daisuke! You'll hurt its back!" His mother called to him. He hopped to the ground sheepishly. "Sorry." He says to the dog. He whimpers. A girl walks up to him. "Boy, is that an Akitadog? It is right? It a red and white Akitadog really _that_ special?" Daisuke glared up at her, annoyed.

"**You're an idiot, aren't you? You don't know anything!" The girl backs up from him. **

**The villagers' huntsman considered the existence of a red and white akitadog dog very rare and precious. An old legend states that the strongest and most intelligent of bearhounds were red and white. **

"**This is the same kind of Akitadog that Grandpa got just today! He says that it was a gift from the heavens to replace Shiro and avenge his death, as well as help him to hunt Akakabuto! This looks just like her! Except his fur is a bit more red, and hers is more brown! This may be one of those spirit dogs that he was talking about!" The crowd stared at him in awe. "Smart boy!" One said. **

"**Hey! Maybe this dog is related to his dog, Riki! I'll have to show her him! But first, he needs a name." He looked back at his new dog. "A red and white akitadog…eh,…" He thought for a moment and then burst out happily. "I got it! Akatora!" Akatora barked happily at this good sounding new name. **

**And so, these two dogs had each of their destinies set, both as bear dogs. Akatora and Riki. **

**Meanwhile, Grandfather and the village leader were out hunting in a snowstorm, and this time with Riki. **


	4. the Last Moment Of Riki Prt 1

_**Ginga: Nagareboshi Akatora**_

_(Silver Fang: Meteor Red Tiger)_

Chapter Four: The Last Moment of Riki Part 1

The three were walking in the snowstorm now, and they were Grand Father Takeda, his new dog Riki, and the village leader. "So, answer a question for me." The village leader said to Gohei. "So, when did you become so quit about Akakabuto?" He got a glare in return.

"I'm sorry! I can't help it! We're all scared of him! We're losing tourists to **that bear! And all the locals are living in fear… and if a disaster were about to happen… I don't want to say this… but I won't hide my opinion from you… the one who drove Akakabuto ad was you!" **

**Takeda glared at him. "Get lost, coward! I can kill him off without your help!" The leader kept up with him though. Ah, don't be mad, Takeda!" **

"**You said that I was being too quiet…."**

*****_**Sneeze, sniff.**_*****

"**Uh? What wrong, Riki?" Takeda looked at his dog, which was following something by scent. "He must have caught a track." **

*****_**Sniff, Sniff**_*****

**The two looked down at the dog that was looking for something, and it seems as though he had found it. Another one of the dogs began barking. **

*****_**Arf! Arf! Arf! Arf! **_*** **

**Takeda kicked snow at the dog. "Shut up, you stupid mutt!" He yelled to it. **

*****_**Yipe! **_*** * **_**Sniff, Sniff!**_** ***

**Takeda looked at his dog. "What's with Riki? Is it Akakabuto?" **

**Further into the woods, a couple of people were lost. "Hmm. Strange. I think we're lost." The boy said to Toshi. "Oh, you think so? I thought you wanted to get lost." She said to him. "No! I didn't mean to! I really did get lost!" Toshi looked back at him with a smile. "It's okay, it's not a bad thing, you know." She then sensed something was around them. "What is it, Toshi dear? Aren't you as brave as I thought?" Kazue said to her. She looked around nervously and then back at him. "Well, I'm brave." She said to him. Suddenly, a great swipe, came and nearly killed Kazue. It was Akakabuto again. "Oh, my god!" Toshi screamed. She looked back over at them, but then growled. She was brave. Akakabuto roared at her. Nearby…**

**The people could hear Akakabuto. "Find it Riki!" Takeda shouted to his dog. The other dogs ran with her to find the bear that Riki desired to kill. The bear now had Kazue fully in his mouth. Blood went everywhere. Toshi was backed up against a tree, but just the slightest bit brave toward Akakabuto. **

**Later at the lodge…**

**Daisuke was still looking at his new dog, Akatora. "Just looking at you makes me happy. You're all red colored." Akatora stared happily back up at him. "And that's what your name means! Red Tiger!" Akatora barked to his master. A person came in, asking for Daisuke. "Daisuke! Is your snowmobile fixed yet?" He asked him. He looked up at them. **

"**Those two students who're staying here haven't yet returned. It's not good. You can't just sit in her and be idle, boy." A person said to him. "Sorry, boy." The same girl said to him. "Please..?" A man said in the background. Daisuke had over to his own snowmobile. "Jeez, students are so useless! And I have to pay for the petrol for this with my own money." He was soon leaving to find the two students. "You can just pay for it when it returns!" He said over his shoulder.**

"**Nah, I'm just kidding! I'm off!"**

**Toshi was backed up against a tree, but still glaring at Akakabuto. He roared back at her. Just then, the squad of fogs, at the lead Riki, came over the hill and chased Akakabuto. The dogs circled her and barked. The two men came over a few minutes later. "Look! Someone's unconscious. A woman! One of the students!" The leader said to Takeda. **

"**Lady! Wake up!" Takeda said thrusting her into the village leader's arms. He then yelled to Takeda. "Takeda! Over here!" He looked around, surprised. Bear tracks. **

"**He's still nearby!" The leader stared at him pitifully. "Takeda! We can't go! We can't see a thing in this storm!" He looked over his shoulder. "Crybaby! Follow me." **

"**Just go back to the village. Get that woman off the mountain. He replied with unease. "But I can't just leave you here, Takeda! Even for us to leave is dangerous!" **

**The dogs were barking at a tree. **

_***Arf! Arf! **_*****

**Takeda went over to them. "I see, he escaped up there! It's been five years, I know that you've grown wiser." The dogs ran around. "He jumped over that big rock. He knew it would hide his scent from us. This is bad! I didn't imagine that he'd be this clever!" **

"**Find him Riki!"**

**First Riki, the leader, climbed to the top. Her two followers waited until Riki had reached the peak, before climbing it themselves. The three dogs moved as one body during the hunt. But Akakabuto had deliberately left paw prints in the snow. They had led in circle as though he had simply vanished from the mountain. **

**Akakabuto looked down at the dogs, and then at Takeda. He clung to the tree. He was at the top of the tree above while his scent below was confusing the dogs. **

**He would jump from the tree and ambush them. For them, the field of vision in the snow storm was very poor. Akakabuto had been calculating the wind direction carefully so his attack wouldn't fail. He caught the sight of the approaching man who had shot his eye, feeling pure hatred.**

**From the treetop, Akakabuto could easily see everyone below him. And he leaped. **

**The bear leaped, and nearly crushed Takeda. Riki came in though, and saved him, but not entirely. He and Riki were badly hurt. **

**Daisuke was rushing through the snowstorm on his snowmobile. "They're not here. Maybe they're in Tokobu valley…" **

*****_**Bang!**_** ***

**Daisuke looked at the direction of the sound. " A gunshot! It was nearby!" He raced over to the source of the sound. "It's Grandpa! Did he find Akakabuto?" He soared over a small dropout and went on his way. **

***?***

"**Aah! What the hell is this?" Daisuke looked at the mess in front of him. The two other dogs have been killed by Akakabuto. "Those are Grandpa's dogs…"**

**He looked over to the side. **

***!***

"**Wh…Who's there?" He looks over to his right. "The village leader!" The leader begins talking, he is very hurt. "He did it… Akakabuto… hurry!... get the village rescue team!" **

**Daisuke gasps to himself. "Akakabuto!" "Please, hurry… T… Takeda Gohei is in danger…"**

**To be continued…**


	5. The Last Moment of Riki Prt 2

_**Ginga: Nagareboshi Akatora**_

_(Silver Fang: Meteor Red Tiger)_

Chapter Five: The Last moment Of Riki Part Two

"Look! Helicopters!" A person yelled. "What happened? Has someone gone missing?" Another asked. In the lodge, a person busted through a door. "This is bad everyone! They're on breaking news!" Another person in the small crown spoke. "Toshiaki and Kazue was attacked by a bear!" They said to inform another person, who had missed it. The person retorted. "What? You're kidding! Bear hibernate at this time of the year!"

"But that's what the communications said! They're being taken to the hospital." Another said to the second.

The bodies of the two victims were being recovered from the mountains. They were wounded by a bear. "Take all possible safety measure! Shoot to kill!"

"Doctor! Toshiaki and Kazue! She's in a critical state, and there will be no visitors!" "She said that she saw the man who was killed instantly with an injury to his neck." "What did you say, Toshiaki?" These kinds of things were going around about then, loud chattering conversation.

The woman is in a critical state! Everyone, for the time being, please don't go out there after what happened today." A new reporter said to the camera, in which was broadcasting to everyone who could see it.

Later, in the mountains,

Riki had dragged Gohei to a large inside crack and placed him inside of there, and then jumped in herself. Akakabuto saw when she jumped in though. He roared and clawed at the hole that they were in.

Riki growled at him, but that was all that she could do then, she was badly hurt. Akakabuto roared and ran away because of the helicopter noises.

They flew over, but did not see Gohei or Riki. Riki would have gone out to signal them, but she was too badly wounded.

Daisuke was running through the halls, thinking about the conversation that he and the leader had had just a few minutes ago. "Chief, where's Riki?" He had asked. "What happened to Grandpa Takeda?" the leader spoke back. "He got them.. Takeda and Riki… He came from behind and we couldn't react fast enough. Takeda shot him once, but it was not use.

Daisuke's thoughts were filled with this conversation as he ran through the halls.

Riki saved Gohei, but they both were badly injured… They fell down a crevice in Tokobu valley. He dashed out of the hospital. "That's it!" He yelled, running away fastly. "Aah!" A person who he bumped into yelled. He cursed to himself as he ran through the streets. "Daisuke!" That girl called, (Imma just gonna call her Blue) "What happened to Toshiaki and Kazue?" A man behind Blue asked.

"That guy! He got wounded in the neck! And…and…. He got killed!" He sped away toward home on his snowmobile. "What the hell… Riki… Riki is… He can't die before she has seen Akatora!"

He zoomed in front of a car and dodger it in time. "Hey! You idiot! Watch where you are going!" A person yelled to him. "Shut your mouth!" Daisuke yelled back.

He ran inside to the dog run, where Fuji, Hiya-n, Giyan, and Akatora were. Fuji whined. He began to talk to her. "Fuji.. Riki was killed!" Fuji was afraid and shocked. He grabbed Akatora, who was also in a state of shock.

"But Akatora that's just what they said!" He yelled to his dog. "She was killed by Akakabuto… It's what they told me, but I think that Riki is just wounded!"

The search party, bear hunters, prefectural police and self-defense force searched together. The continued to do so for two days. But Akakabuto was far from them. They were also searching for Takeda Gohei's body. After three days, the search was ended.

Meanwhile in the lodge…

Daisuke's father was talking to him, about Riki and Takeda. "What an awful situation. At least the skiing area will be closed until Akakabuto is shot dead." His wife spoke then. "So they finally decided to close it after all?" She asked. "Yeah, the town hall put up a notification. Daisuke joined the conversation.

"And what about Grandpa?" He asked him. "The storm has been going on for weeks. I guess it's hopeless." He said to Daisuke. "That's not true! We're talking about Riki! She isn't just any old dog!" He yelled to his father. "Do you really think that Akatora's mother was killed by Akakabuto?"

His father looked at him quizzically. "What makes you think that Riki is Akatora's mother?" he asked. Daisuke looked at him. "For reasons that you should know and that I do." He dashed out of the room and into the dog run.

He picked up Akatora again. "They are wrong. I won't believe it! Akatora, you must believe me! Riki is an amazing dog, you must see her before she dies….Akatora…"

_The snow was heavy in a storm as the wind came along. Takeda woke up in his small space. Riki was in his lap, lying under a blanket. He looked down at Riki. Gohei and Riki lay on each other for warmth. A mutual effort to overcome the cold and escape death. But today marked one full week since the incident. The starvation and the cold seemed to increase by the minute. They also beared terrible wounds, to fatigued to stand, they were losing their spirit. Takeda patted his dog and looked down at her. _

"_I'm done for Riki." He said to his dog. She lifted her head up. He stared down at her. "I must eat." He says to Riki. She is in shock. He hugs her close. _

_Gohei's words were jokes, trying to make fun of the bad situation seemed like the best thing to do. "Riki listen… Listen to me…" Riki was listening. He sighed. "I will eat you.." He says to her. She jerks her head up in shock. He takes out his gun. He put it to her head. _

"_This is the only way that I can live. This is it." He fires his gun at Riki. "Forgive me Riki!" _

_He and the dog lay there in the cave that was now quiet. Gohei held his dog's blood for a moment. "Your enemy is him. Without a dought, I will take revenge." _ "You idiot! How could you kill your own dog!" the place became blurry and wavy. "What the hell? Daisuke!" Came a voice.

"Daisuke! His mother said to him. He snapped awake. "You idiot, you were only half awake!" His father said to him. "Ah, it's cold." He said. "Hurry, and get under the covers." His mother said to him. "No, I t was just a dream. But they must be alive. It felt so real…" Daisuke said to himself. He took a blanket and got out of his bed to go someplace. "Daisuke, get back to bed." One of his parents said to him.

He came up with an excuse to leave, and he did. "Close the door!" His father yelled to him. " I am!" He yelled back. He escaped to the dog run and saw Fuji. She smiled at him as he came in. "It's so cold tonight, isn't it?" He asked his dog. "It's alright, we'll stay together." He says, curling up next the dog, her pups, and Akatora. He spreads the blanked over all of them. Akatora licks him. Daisuke laughs and rests his head on the hay.

Akakabuto was walking through the storm and saw a vision of Takeda on the tree. He charged it and broke down the tree with force. He roared.

Akakabuto avoided the search party for three days. He knew that once again several hundred kilometers of mountain had been won over to him. With just one eye, his only purpose was to kill that man. It was Gohei Takeda. He would kill anybody who set a foot into his territory. He had finally won it back, and he wasn't going to let it go. He regretted nothing. His strong desire for revenge to kill Gohei forced him to stay in the mountains.

Mother Nature's sympathy has given them a rock crevice to protect them from the wing. Powdered snow kept them hydrated and saved Gohei and Riki's lives.

Gohei's leg was also badly cut and torn up. Walking was out of the option. Riki also had a severe wound running from her shoulder to her ribcage.

Starving and cold, they began to feel the stabbing urge to give up. They were surviving well, but the amount of the time they'd been there was now the problem.

"This isn't working, Riki." Takeda said to his dog. Riki looked up at him. He took his cutting knife out and spoke. "It seems this is it, the only way out. I'm exhausted. I must live to kill that bear." He raised his axe up and his yelled, "How can I do that if I don't exist?" With that, he threw down the axe and screamed out in pain. Riki stared afraid, and shocked. Takeda had cut his own foot off.

He grabbed Riki's head forcefully. He hugged her. "You're my only lifeline now, Riki!" He says to her. "We can't just sit here and die. He set the axe down. "I still have to kill him. I can't allow either of us to die! Riki was afraid, and surprised.

"Not another day, Riki. That's why I need to heal your stomach. Riki was calmer now, but still a bit afraid. Gohei grabbed the "food" that was on the floor.

"Listen up, Riki, this is an order." He then shoves the meat into Riki's mouth, and she struggles with disgust. She is very surprised.

"Eat! Eat it Riki!" He yells to her. "Eat this meat, and recover some of your energy! Then you can make a run for the village!"

Riki couldn't do it. And for the first time, she struggled against Gohei, yelping and begging for him to stop.

Riki chokes up the meat and does not swallow any. "You weren't sent to disobey my orders!" He yells at her.

Akakabuto head the commotion and recognized the voices. He roared at them and growled. Riki growled back at him, the need for vengeance overpowering all else.

Gohei and Riki were suddenly caught in an extreme situation. Akakabuto had them cornered. He was laughing at them.

And still, Akakabuto's appearance gave Riki the strength to stand again. The loyal bearhound was willing to throw away her life for her owner, and for Shiro. The situation didn't phase her the least. "Riki, don't! You can't win against him!" Gohei yelled to his dog desperately. Riki didn't answer or bother with his warning. She ran up to Akakabuto and bit his muzzle. He backed out of the hole and roared at her. She growled back. "Fool! Why aren't you listening to me?" Takeda screamed to his dog. "Come back here!" Riki stood still as Akakabuto leaped at her.

Later at the lodge…

"We still have to find his body." A person said. "Gohei Takeda is the only one missing…" they said. They went outside. "Alright, let's go. Today, we'll divide into three search groups. "This group will check around Hatake Mountain. The Keneko group will look around the Harada area." Daisuke peeks his head out from around the bend, he is with Akatora. "We'll meet up in the valley." Daisuke was waving frantically behind a leaving man and dog.

Fuji retired over a year ago. But now, during the search, she also helped.

Daisuke stood at the door. "Darn… I can't go just because I'm a kid?" He gets on his snowmobile. "I'll just go anyway! This isn't a joke, Akatora!" HE says to his dog. "Let's go, Akatora! We'll just go ahead!" The two sped off, Daisuke driving, and Akatora in Daisuke's lap.

Akakabuto is attacking Riki. He roars menacingly. Akakabuto swats Riki into the ground. But, Riki jumps up and bites him. "Riki, no…You can't die... just like that!" Riki blasts out of the snow and attacks Akakabuto, biting his muzzle.

*Kyaa!*

They spin around and Akakabuto blows Riki into a tree, crushing her. Riki flips off of him and fall to the ground. Akakabuto reaches up a paw and with one swipe, tears Riki's bandages off!

Riki gets up again though!

Akakabuto'd yet to see the real power and endurance of a red and white akitadog. Her power and life force were resting on the same line. The last remaining trained bearhound in the district was Riki. And the strength she possessed was incredible.

The two continued to fight each other in a grim battle of life and death.

Just then, Dasuke and Akatora came over the hill and saw the sight that would set them off. "No way! Riki… Riki is alive! Look Akatora! That's Riki!"

It then came to Akatora that his sister and Riki were one and the same. He grew scared, but then very brave, and dashed out onto the battlefield as well. "NO! Akatora!" Daisuke yelled to him. The screaming attracted Akakabuto's attention, and he charged toward Daisuke!

Akakabuto's bear paw was about to crush Daisuke, but a hand reached up and pulled him down. Riki fended off Akakabuto then.

Daisuke woke up to hear loud noises and see Grand Father. He was happy that he was alive, and then remembered that Akatora was still out there. He ran over to the opening of the hole, but Takeda held him back.

"But Akatora!" He cried. "Who's Akatora? Riki's brother! Riki's brother? This was tossed around as the dogs fought.

Akatora watched in fear as Akakabuto played around with Riki like a ragdoll. He barked to get Akakabuto's attention. And it worked. Akakabuto was heading straight for him! Akakabuto swatted him with a large paw and Riki watched sadly. Just as Akakabuto were about to kill Akatora, Riki dived in and grabbed him, and ran, but not for long, she then froze up, and stared angrily at Akakabuto.

He roared and swatted them. "Riki, run!" Daisuke and Takeda yelled to her. Riki did not run. Akatora was swatted over to Daisuke, and Riki wasn't. She was swatted right over a cliff!

Takeda yelled at Akakabuto and raised his axe to kill him, but he ran away, due to the searchers coming. Takeda crawled over to the near edge of the cliff and looked over. "RIKI! MY RIKI" He yelled over the side. Daisuke made an attempt to jump, but Takeda stopped him. And to Akatora, Akakabuto delt a blow he will never forget.


	6. The Trials Begin

_**Ginga: Nagareboshi Akatora**_

_(Silver Fang: Meteor Red Tiger)_

Chapter Six: The Trials begin

Entry Prohibited: Due to the recent events, entry of this mountain is now prohibited.

The humans didn't dare to go to Akakabuto's territory. The humans had given up and literally given him the mountain for his own.

"Stop! Stop it Mr. Gohei! You can't do it!" voices screamed from in a hospital, in Futago. Takeda slapped a person off of himself and into a wall. "I don't have time to be idle here!" he yelled to them. "Akakabuto can't just wait!" He yelled. "Hah… a Kohaku…. An exceptional Akitadog is waiting for me." He said to them, and then he walked away.

A doctor screamed to him, "Leaving now isn't good for your health!" Takeda didn't care. "Fine! Do whatever you want…"

Meanwhile, Daisuke was talking with his friend. "Daisuke, did you know… you grandfather has left the hospital today?" Daisuke was surprised. "What? But he's meant to stay there for three months!" His friend continued on.

"He was being really violent. He refused to let them give his medication. And he might try to take Akatora from you." Daisuke looked at his friend in disbelief. "You'll have to give him up. He's an expert on bear hunting, but also an expert on dog killing!

When he trains new puppies, his training is so strict that nine out of ten die." Daisuke turned his head to the ground, eyes shut. "Bad, isn't it?" His friend asked him.

"He's probably going to want the best puppie we have now." Daisuke says.

Later, Daisuke tries to train Hiya-n Giyan, and Akatora. "Don't move. Just hold still!" He says to his dogs, who are sitting in the snow. He turns and runs a distance away. "Okay, okay. You all understand, don't you?" He says to the pups. "Alright come on. Over here!" He says to the pups. Hiya-n and Giyan run through the snow over to Daisuke, but it takes them a while. It took Akatora faster though. Akatora runs to the left. "Huh?" Daisuke asks himself.

"Hey, Akatora! Where are you going?" Daisuke asks. Hiya-n and Giyan kept stomping tiredly over to their master. "It's over here, this way!" He yells back to his dog. Akatora jumped onto the snow cleared sidewalk and ran on it easily, and faster.

Akatora ran directly towards the side of the street. He'd seen the humans walk there, and he knew it would be easier to run there than in the center of the road, which was covered with heavy snow.

Hiya-n and Giyan were shocked at how Akatora figure that out. They were nearly passed out! "I see!" Daisuke said to himself. Akatora jumped on him and licked his face, and pulled his scarf. Daisuke laughed at this act of playfulness.

"He really is one of a kind. The red and white akitadog legend isn't just a myth…" He says to himself. "He he…you! Grrarrr!" He says to his dog, happily.

Back at the lodge…

"He he, you're great! You really are Riki's brother!" He says to his dog. "But what if Grandpa wants Akatora? What if he does get you?" The worries. He thinks back to when he saw Takeda carrying a great huge bear home.

"Whoa, what I huge bear!" Grandpa brought back another huge bear!" Daisuke says to himself, as he watches Grandpa carry the large bear on his shoulders up the street. "Wow, where did you meet him?" A person asks him. Grandpa looks over his shoulder. "Don… Over here, now!" He barks. Don whimpers. He walks over, afraid. Takeda hits his hard with a log and screams at him. "You really should have died a long time ago!" *Yipe!* Grandpa Stop! You'll kill him!" A person in the crowd yells. *Whine!* 

Daisuke was worried that he won't be able to keep his companion. Just then, a hand reaches out and yanks Akatora from Daisuke's grasp. "I will be taking this. Just one is enough." Takeda says. Daisuke's father ran into the room and dashed over the Takeda. "Grandpa, that really is enough!" He yells to him. "You're supposed to be in the hospital for 6 months."

Takeda looked down at his hand. Akatora was biting it. He lifted up his hand and slapped Akatora, which made him stop for a moment.

Daisuke was now mad at him and this act of violence. "You're making a mistake, Grandpa! You won't get Akatora! His father was holding him back. Takeda turned around and looked at them, and back at the other pups. Fuji whimpered and ducked her head. He jabbed each pup with his cane.

*Eee! Yipe!*

"The other puppies are useless. Good bye." Takeda says, and then he begins to walk away. Daisuke, now very mad at him, grabs a log and raises it, but his father holds him back again.

"Stop that, Daisuke!" He then called to Grand Father, "Make him a good bearhound, Grandpa." He turns his head, but closes the door behind him. Daisuke growls to the door, but really to Takeda. "If you hurt him, I will kill you! I won't let you kill Akatora, Grandpa!"

His parents turn around to see Daisuke packed up like he was going on a very long trip, he had his roll up bed with him and a can of water, and food. "Daisuke, what the hell are you doing?" His father asked him. "It's nothing!" He called back in response. "Dad, I won't be back for a while." Daisuke says to his father. "What did you say?" He says to him.

Daisuke finally reached the great cabin that Grand Father stays in. He has walked there in yet again, another snow storm. He looks up at it. "This is his cabin. I'll teach that stubborn old guy a lesson!" He then tries to motivate himself while standing outside. "Calm down, Daisuke. There's nothing to be afraid of. You must save your friend. He's just a 70 year old man!"

With that said and done, he walked inside and took his pack off. "I'll take him by surprise, knock him in the stomach! Right… here goes…!" He says to himself. He runs further inside of the house, but surprisingly, there's nothing there. "Akatora!" He yells into the darkness. He sees a large wall full of animal skulls, a table with a boiling kettle on it, and it was held up by a string, which was connected to a wooden square, hung on the ceiling by some more rope. But nothing else. He looked at the skulls; he looked at the kettle, but did not see Grand Father or Akatora. "Akatora! W... where are you?" He shouts into the darkness.

"Why did you come here, Daisuke?" Came a voice from behind him, which startled Daisuke. Behind him sat Takeda, and he had a log in his hand. Below him was a beaten, weakened, and bloody Akatora. Daisuke stared in shock at the sight before him.

"What the hell are you doing, Grandpa? You call that training? Akatora Is only a puppy! It's too early to train him!" Akatora looks up at his friend sadly and tiredly. "Why did you come over here?" Takeda asks him again. He stared for a moment and growls. "Akatora is not a normal dog. He is a Kohaku. He is also Riki's brother. A real bearhound can start training as early as now!" Takeda says sternly to him.

"You keep saying "Kohaku, Kohaku" It's just a hunter's legend. Don't force Akatora to follow such superstition!" Takeda glared and grabbed his gun, and loaded it. "A Kohaku can take a lot. A regular bearhound cannot. Watch closely. Daisuke makes a jump for his gun. "What…?" He yells to him.

Takeda fired the gun and right by Akatora's ear. The bullet was embedded right above Daisuke. A cloth was fallen around his head, cotton balls well, as well as installation and other things. Takeda looked down at his feet. He set Akatora down.

"Right up close to his ears, and the sound was dreadful. He didn't even quiver. It took Shiro a whole year to get used to that sound… Daisuke was amazed by that. "No…. He was just frozen in fear…" He began.

Takeda shifted the gun toward Akatora. He sniffed it and then bit it. Daisuke was speechless for a short time. "Now he's curios… he really was fearless of the sound? Akatora, you really are amazing….

The next morning, Daisuke woke up to pain yelping.

*Eeek! Yipe!*

"Akatora?" Daisuke asked himself. He listened and then looked out a window. "No… already morning. I have to make sure that he doesn't hurt Akatora!"

*Kyaa!*

Daisuke burst through the door to outside. "Are you hurting Akatora again?" He saw Grandpa trying to get Akatora to eat bear meat. "Eat it, Akatora! Bear meat is all you'll get!" Daisuke was mad at him for hurting his puppy, so he grabbed the back of Takeda's shirt and yanked while yelling, "Stop it, Grandpa! Stop it!"

With one move, Takeda yelled, "Get lost!" and punched his so hard that he was thrown strait away. Daisuke growled to himself.

Gohei was giving Akatora nothing but raw bear meat to eat. The smell of bear meat is strong and disgusting, and even adult dogs hated it. An adult dog presented with bear meat… would cower with its tail between its legs. Still a puppy, it was horrible for Akatora.

While eating, Daisuke looked down at the floor beside him. Akatora was lying there, and with a bowl of bear meat beside him. "How long are you going to starve him? He'll die if all you give bear meat." Daisuke asked. Takeda looked up at him. "He'll eat… when he is hungry enough." Akatora smiled up at them when Grandfather told a story of his past.

"My dog Riki-Oh was killed. I wanted a bearhound with the blood of a Tosa dog. He was lop-eared, and he weighed 75 kilos. He was huge. Riki-Oh was young, just two years old. He overpowered any dog that crossed his path. He became strong from the many fights he had won. My wish for a strong dog like Riki-Oh had come true. He amazed everyone. All because I fed him bear meant from the very first moment. Riki-Oh was brave. In his first real battle, he rushed the bear head on. He bit the bear's leg and didn't think about where his body was. That was his one down fall. His bravery didn't serve him well, and Riki-Oh was killed with a single blow to the head. And for the first time, I felt loss. If you feed a young dog bear meat, they'll become a real bear hound."

The name Riki-Oh reminded Akatora of his sister. Her name was Riki. He slept with her image in his mind, except she was fighting Akakabuto, and she had won.

"He'll become amazing." Takeda said to Daisuke. Akatora is still young, so he is refusing the bear meat. Within six months, he'll think nothing of eating it at all." He looked back at Akatora, who was asleep. "If he doesn't start eating it now, he'll be scared of eating it forever." Takeda says to Daisuke. Now to him, it all made sense. Sort of. "But he'll be killed by a bear in no time, if he keeps this up."

Back at the lodge…

"You should have seen, it mother! While I was at Grandpa's cabin for three days!" His parents laughed at his story of how he stayed there. "Don't laugh! I'm not going to stop going, I'll go again tomorrow…"

His mother cut in his sentence. "You're worrying too much, Daisuke." His father got his say as well. "Don't you think you're being rude? He's an expert on raising bearhounds.

Daisuke walked over to Fuji, Hiya-n and Giyan. "You guys look so happy… being with your mother every day… But for Akatora… being forced to eat that disgusting bear meat every day…"

At that moment, Fuji began barking.

*Arf!*

His father and Daisuke got up to see what she was barking about. "What is it Fuji? The back door…" Daisuke says to her. Daisuke could then see a shadow that was outside of the door.

*?*

There was clattering and barking outside the figure is bigger and clearer then. It was Akatora! Daisuke makes a run for the door to let Akatora in. "Akatora! He escaped and came home!" Daisuke says with his arms outstretched to take in his puppy.

"Wait Daisuke!" his father says to him, and yanks the back of the shirt to hold him tight. "If you spoil him now, he'll just want to come back here!" Daisuke's father says to him. Akatora looks pleadingly back inside and whimpers, scratching on the doors.

*Whine! Whine!*

Akatora jumps up at the window whimpering. Suddenly Takeda comes up over to them and towers over Akatora.

*!* (Akatora)

He spins around to see Takeda behind him. He puts a rope around Akatora's neck and pulls him forcefully away. Akatora yelps as he is pulled away.

*Eeek! Screech!*

Takeda drags him on his back over to his cabin. It tugged on Daisuke's heart to see a puppy, _his_ puppy being treated like that, and getting further away into the arms of a cruel person. "This Kohaku is still too young… I can't let you send Akatora to a terrible fate!

Later at the cabin…

"Sigh, Akatora's just a stubborn brat. He has not eaten for 3 days." Takeda says to Daisuke. "Three days?" He says surprised. He ran over to Akatora and his food bowl. "What the hell is this? He can't eat this!" Daisuke raged to Grandpa. Akatora watched from on the floor. "How can you expect him to eat this?" He yelled to him.

Grand Father watched, and got up. Daisuke took that as a challenge. "Oooh, you want to fight, old guy?" He yelled to him, fists up. Takeda looked down at the floor then. Daisuke was confused and surprised. Akatora had given in and was eating the bear meat.

Akatora was eating it. He couldn't refuse it any longer. He knew he had to eat it to live. Akatora…. Just a pup, had proved his bearhound blood for the first time. He was eating it to escape death. HeHh


	7. A Flashback

_**Ginga: Nagareboshi Akatora**_

_(Silver Fang: Meteor Red Tiger)* Black Tiger_

Chapter Seven: A Flashback

Daisuke was now in an exercise room lifting a barbell. Why was he doing this? Because he was wanting to pull a hunterbow. Akatora stood beside him, now with a fancy new collar and watched.

He watched as Daisuke worked the thing in his arms, lifting it up and down, and was counting in the process. He got to thirty when Hidetoshi came into the room. He was the doctor in the hospital. He and his friend met him while Akatora was still doing his training.

Flashback

"Now don't go too far, kids." A man in a car said to Daisuke and his friend. They promised that they wouldn't and left. They went into a hunting and sport shop. The two looked at everything until they heard another person come in. A man and his dog walked into the store. The man's name was Hidetoshi, and he was the village leader's son. 

"Hey, no dogs in here." The man behind the counter said, gesturing to the olive green and black German shepherd by his side. "I see. Kurotora*, out." He said, and Kurotora turned and quietly walked out. The two boys went out as well to look at Kurotora. 

"He seems much smarter than Akatora." Daisuke's friend says to him. Daisuke half glares at him. "Well, he's a shepherd, and he seems to be already trained." He says to him. 

When they got back to Takeda's camp, he said that Akatora was out back. 

When they got out there, he was in a pool of shallow water. His friend pointed at something at the bottom of the pool. "Look! Bear meat!" He says to Daisuke. Akatora dusked under and grabbed the meat, and paddled over to a raft, hopped on it and ate. 

Takeda came over and dumped another bucket of water into the pool. Daisuke yelled at him for that. "What are you doing? He'll drown!" He says urgently. Takeda does not do anything except watch. He did this every day to Akatora, and soon he had to hold his breath to get the food. This was very hard since dogs cannot hold their breaths. 

It took days to master, and soon Akatora could do so. Soon, they hunted at a river. Daisuke spotted bird that flew over ahead. He told Takeda to shoot at the thing right away. He did not listen to Daisuke at first, but later shot at the thing. It landed in the river below. "Awww, I told you to shoot it earlier!" Daisuke complains to him. 

Grand Father looks down at Akatora, who is looking into the river. "Akatora get it." He said to the pup. Akatora whimpered up at him and judged the height of the fall. "I said to go and get it." Takeda said to the dog. 

Akatora stared at the water again, and this time jumped in after the bird. Daisuke watched as his dog swam perfectly through the water and after the bird. "So that's why you waited!" Daisuke says to him. Takeda does not answer, just watches Akatora. 

"But, another dog watches from above. A large German shepherd looks down at Akatora and jumps into the rapids as well. He reaches the bird before Akatora down and steals it from him, and swims over to the side. Akatora yelps in distress and anger as the dog swims away. 

"After him, Akatora! Don't let him get away!" Akatora follows the dog, which has now gotten out to the other side of the banking. It shakes off the access water and looks down at Akatora who was barking at him, while swimming toward him. When Akatora was halfway onto the banking, the dog jumped up the rocks mountain goat style and left Akatora. 

But the pup wasn't phased by this. He climbed up the rocks after the dog. The two rushed past Daisuke and Takeda. The shepherd looked back at Akatora in a challenging way and jumped over a large crack in the ice flow. Akatora stopped and looked at the dog, who was staring at him in victory. Akatora backed up, and then ran toward the edge, thinking to jump across as the other dog did. 

"Don't Akatora! You'll never make it!" Daisuke called to his dog in worry. Akatora did not listen. He still jumped across the crack. Once he was near the other side, his paws touched the snow… and then he slipped. Akatora tumbled down the large ice flow squeaking in pain and defeat. It seemed as though the other dog snickered as he watched. 

"Kurotora!" Came a voice from behind. It was coming from Hidetoshi. Kurotora turned and ran in the direction of the man. 

Akatora finally made it up the cliff, but when he got there, both were gone. 

They walked home without their hunt that day. Akatora had his head hung low to the ground in sadness that he failed at what Takeda asked him to do. "Come on, cheer him up a little! Look at how sad he is!" Daisuke said to a not responding Takeda. He looked back at his dog. "Don't be said. This was only your first try." He said to the pup. 

Just at that time, a car went past them. Akatora started barking- the car held the dog that stole their prey! Daisuke recognized him as well. "Stop! Thief!" He yelled to him. The car stopped at a man got out. Takeda recognized him. 

"Hidetoshi." He said to him. The man nodded. "It is true. I am the son of the village leader." A few minutes later, he told that he had shot the bird himself. He takes the thing out and tosses it to Daisuke. "See, I shot it's head clean off." Daisuke inspected it. "It's true! His head is missing!" He said in surprise. "My rifle is much more powerful that Takeda's. That's why it's head is missing."

Takeda looked at the gun in his hands. "What could you want with that kind of weaponry?" He asked. "The only thing that it could be needed for… Akakabuto." Hidetoshi said to him. "Akakabuto?" Takeda repeated. They talked about the bear and then Hidetoshi got in his car and left. 

For the fist time, Akatora tasted defeat. But he also felt his bearhound blood inside of him awaken and take over his human inside. 


	8. Departure in the morning

_**Ginga: Nagareboshi Akatora**_

_(Silver Fang: Meteor Red Tiger)* Black Tiger_

Chapter Eight: Departure in the morning

"Daisuke, you shouldn't overdo it right at the beginning. Just go at a steady pace." Hidetoshi told him.

Daisuke, you've been acting a little strange lately." His mother said to him. "What?" He asks her. "You've eaten so much this morning. Are you all right? Or were you just really hungry?" His mother asked him. It's alright, he's just growing. So what, if he had 3 or 4 bowls." His father said to her.

"I had six." Daisuke says shyly and sheepishly. His father spit out the food that he was eating. "S…six? You're kidding me..!" He says, astonished at his son.

"He he… it's all that barbell training that's making me eat so much. My physical strength has increased so much… soon I'll be able to pull that bow!

Earlier, he had tried to pull a bow, but he couldn't. He was told that it was much more powerful than a gun, and that it could be used as a good hunting weapon. He thought that he could use it to hunt Akakabuto for Takeda, him and Akatora.

They then hear something crawling on the roof. "Wha… what was that?" His father started. "It's Akatora again!" Daisuke says as they both rush outside to see Akatora hanging off the roof.

He'd been training in a different ways to impress Daisuke.

"Akatora, don't do that!" His father yelled to the dog. "He shouldn't be doing such stupid things!" His father raged. "It's no use. That guy does as he pleases." Daisuke says with a smile, his hands folded behind his head.

In north eastern Japan in the late spring of May… The mountain looked black from a distance. After finishing a long hibernation… more bears were beginning to appear. It was the season for them to hunt. The surroundings had brought out a strange behavior in Akatora. It was the instinct of a Kohaku. From the mountain, strong winds blew. Akatora could smell the scent of other animals coming from them. Every day, Akatora would go to this point and observe them… He imagined the battles and the obstacles that may one day cross his path.

He then heard barking from down on the ground. Fuji, Hiya-n and Giyan were down there. Both puppies were barking and jumping up at the walls, trying desperately to get to Akatora. "Well, look at that… they've come out to see Akatora!" One of the pups fell and yelped as Akatora jumped down to see them.

It wasn't only that. Every day he jumped closer to the roof. Akatora's legs were growing stronger. This was vital for the survival of a bearhound. It was increasing the strength in his legs each time.

"Who could like such a strange dog?" A person asked as they walked by.

The villagers thought that it was stupid. Daisuke didn't take notice of them.

One day, outside of the hospital, Kurotora began barking. Hidetoshi heard his dog and went outside to check on him and see that was upsetting the dog.

He walked inside of the room and saw Daisuke pulling the bow!

"Wha…What?" He asked himself.

The arrow shot through the air and straight through that barrel of straw.

"Did you see that? Wasn't it great? I did it!" He said to Akatora.

His friend began talking to Daisuke again. "Hey, Daisuke… how long do you get to keep Akatora?" He asked. "I don't know… Grandpa is as old as it is…" He replied to the question. "Gohei is already almost 70 years old… he can't really hunt bears anymore." His friend said to him. "Yeah, he can't take care of things here when he's confined to bed rest." Daisuke said to him.

Akatora started barking and running toward a figure that he and the other two knew so well. "Grandpa!" the two said in shock as he came down the road weakly. "Where have you been, Akatora? Let's go, it's time to bring down bears." At that, he fell over and in a bad state. "You're being a fool! You can't go bear hunting in your condition!" Daisuke says to him. Both kids were worried right now. Then they knew what they had to do. "Akatora! Get Mr. Hidetoshi! Hurry and call for him!" They both said.

"What are you going to do, Daisuke? His friend asked him. "Somehow… we must get him back to the house!" "We're the only ones that can help him.

He knew the situation was bad. Akatora ran as fast as he could. He ran directly forwards. Even when an obstacle stood right in front of his eyes. Akatora didn't let any of that get in his way.

"My go… what is that? What the hell?" This was spoken of when they saw Akatora's silhouette against the moon.

They rushed around the building just in time to see Akatora land. "Whoa!" They say to themselves. "It's a dog! It's Akatora, that Kohaku!"

The nature of Akatora's abilities was improving all the time. As the moonlight shone against him, Akatora's white fur gleamed a silvery color, and the red like burning fire. He looked like a shooting star, now, to him, Akatora was no longer a puppy, but an adult.

Later at the hospital…

"Daisuke, where's Akatora? We must go after that bear…" Daisuke looked at him sadly. "Grandpa…" He began, but was cut off by Hidetoshi. "I'll keep an eye on him for tonight. It's already late, you should go home." He said to Daisuke.

"Tomorrow…" Daisuke said to his dog as they both looked up at the moon that night outside Hidetoshi's hospital. Akatora barked up at him. "Let's do it Akatora! We'll fight Akakabuto!"

In the snowy season… the snow had melted and ran down into the valley's river. This caused the river to get out of control. This meant that every year, the villagers had to fix a lot of damage.

"It's completely gone!" Daisuke said as he and Akatora stopped at a river. Logs were scattered and broken, and there was no way to cross. "It happens to the bridge every year… jeez, they'll have to build a new one. And then, Daisuke sees something.

A bear mother and her two cubs are walking along the other side of the river! "Look over there, Akatora!" Daisuke calls to his dog. "It has cubs! And so close to the village!" The bears got out of their view, and they couldn't reach them then at that time.

They began to climb up a mountainside. "Akatora… now we can't be sure of which way they're going… Let's go. It may be spring, but we have to cross that river.

Daisuke looks down at the bow that he is holding. "I'm sorry doctor. Forgive me for this.

Meanwhile, a group of hunters were waiting for Hidetoshi to show up. "Oh, he's here!" One said as they saw the car pull up, with him and Kurotora in it. The dog jumped out of the car and went over to the others.

A man pointed somewhere. "Over there, doctor. This morning Hisame spotted two of them in the valley over there. And unfortunately, it seems the bridge here was taken out by the flood."

Hidetoshi turned to his dog. "Jump over the river, Kurotora!" The dog takes a rope in his mouth and jumps over the river. "Twist it around the tree!" He called to Kurotora, and Kurotora ran around the tree and twisted it securely.

"That's just how brilliant Kurotora is." Hidetoshi said. "And Grandpa Takeda's Akatora, there really is still a long way for him to go. Hah."

Akatora and Daisuke were getting closer to the bears about that time. Akatora began to dash out into the woods. "Akatora! W… Wait a second!" Daisuke stammered and yelled at his dog. Akatora whimpered back to him in anticipation.

"What's wrong with you, Daisuke? You can't be scared! How can't be scared! How can Akatora be so calm?" Akatora came back to him. "Let's not be impatient. Let's fill our stomachs first…" He looks back at the food that he packed, but then gave it to Akatora. "I can't, Akatora, you eat it…"

As soon as he entered the mountains, Daisuke's high spirits were replaced with hesitation. He was feeling so helpless and uneasy that he couldn't imagine getting food down his throat.

But Akatora was eating. Since Daisuke had spotted a sign of the bear, Akatora's senses were coming alive.

Soon a storm started up and it began to rain very hard. "Just as I thought! We must take shelter somewhere, Akatora!" The two ran off into the woods hoping to find a shelter somewhere.

"Burgh, I'm soaked!" Daisuke complained to his pet as they came to a shelter. 'This looks good…" He said as they came to a hold in the wall of a rock, a cave. But there was something occupying it right then.

Two yellow eyes looked out at them, and they saw a large bear jump out at them!

"Get back, Akatora!" Daisuke yelled to his dog, but he was charging the bear, and hoping to get a good attack.

*GRRR-RR!* (Bear) *GRR!* (Akatora)

The bear ran out of its cave and ran at the attacker with its fangs bared. Daisuke ran back to find shelter, but then turned and saw his dog charging toward the bear! "Akatora! Akatora come back! It'll come right at you!" He yelled to his dog but Akatora would not listen.

Daisuke dusked behind a large log that he thought could hide him from the bear, and If Akatora would listen, his dog as well.

"It's huge! "It's huge! It's a ridiculously huge bear! We can't take on something like that!"

*GRRR!*

"What? Akatora?"

The two were charging right at each other, both very mad at one another. "Stop! You'll be killed!" Daisuke yelled worriedly back to his dog.

I wasn't in a bear hound's nature to get scared. Getting scared at such a time would have meant death.

Akatora ran up to the bear and jumped on it, biting a weak spot, it's muzzle. The bear flew back in a rage against the dog. It roared and swatted Akatora off of it, but he landed on his feet.

Lightning came from the clouds and struck something. "Get down!" One of the people said to the others. They all fell to the ground and one person reached for Kurotora.

When that frenzy was over, they got up again. "Where can we take shelter now…?" A person asked another. "Hey, it hit the peak!" A person exclaimed. "In that case… In this kind of weather, we can't use our guns…" Hidetoshi said.

*Woof! Woof!*

Kurotora began barking at something. What's that?" Some people said about the thing that was walking along the hill.

It was a bear that just came out of hibernation. In the northern mountains in spring, food was scarce. It was living of simple things like sprouting plants and river crabs. Kurotora sensed that this bear wanted more than just the simple things.

The bear looked toward them and began to run off. "It noticed us! Let's go!" A person said to the crowd. "Fools! Don't run off!" Hidetoshi said to the rest. "We have Kurotora." He says to the other people. He leans down ans puts his hands on his dog. "All right, Kurotora? Keep the distance shorter that 6000 yards.

"Everyone, a real bearhound doesn't need to be a Kohaku Akita like Akatora." The people calmed down then. "Kurotora? That shepherd?" They asked him, questioning about his dog. "Leave it to dogs that have wisdom and physical strength. Now watch this for proof." Hidetoshi says about his dog. "Go!" He yells, and Kurotora dashes off into the wilderness.

*GRR!*

"What should I do… what should I do?" Daisuke said to himself as he watched his dog fight with a Higuma bear.

In his fear, Daisuke's body was so frozen that he forgot to shoot the bow.

*ROAR!*

Akatora flipped off of the bear's head and bit its hind leg.

"Akatora! Akatora!" Daisuke yelled to his dog. The bear flipped around in circles, tossing Akatora around as well.

*Kyaa!*

Akatora was flipped off of the bear and landed on the ground on his feet.

Akatora was waiting for Daisuke to fire the arrows. This was a huge thing to little Akatora to be facing, and he was relying on Daisuke's help. But, Daisuke was completely unable to help. Akatora's endurance was nearing its limit.

The bear then swatted him with its paw and he hit a tree with force. The bear left a claw mark on Akatora's forehead. That snapped Daisuke into gear. "Uaah! Akatora!" He yelled back to his pet.

Then, Daisuke shot the arrow at the bear, and it hit the bear's center line, killing it. That was their first victory.


	9. The Journey Begins Here

_**Ginga: Nagareboshi Akatora**_

_(Silver Fang: Meteor Red Tiger)* Black Tiger_

Chapter Nine: The Journey Begins Here

The hunting party was roaming through the woods when they heard Kurotora's barking. "What is it?" A person in the crowd asked Hidetoshi. They ran up to see a large bear. "What do you think took that down?" A man asked him. "This could not have been taken by Kurotora, there are no bite marks." Hidetoshi looked up at a tree, where there imbedded in it was an arrow. One of his arrows.

"Look over there! Those two are in a hurry to get off the mountain!" A person commented on the two shadows running away from the group. Hidetoshi knew who they were. They were Daisuke and his Kohaku akitadog, Akatora. The people who used his hunting bow without permission.

The two dashed inside of the room where Daisuke usually practiced. "Pretend that we were here the whole time. Do not raise any suspicion. You hear me, Akatora?" He said to his dog. Akatora looked back at him to let him know that he was listening, and then looked back at the straw bale.

Hidetoshi then came in. "He's here, we knew nothing!" He murmured to his dog. Akatora whimpered. "Forgot something?" Hidetoshi asked him, hitting his head with the arrow. "Oh, darn! I forgot all about that one!" "You will not be able to use my bow anymore. I regret teaching you archery." He says to him. Both of them were stunned.

Daisuke and Akatora were then shooed out of the building, with Daisuke yelling back to Hidetoshi angrily.

When they were walking off the trail, Akatora whined to Daisuke. This gave him some courage. "We'll show him! We'll take down Akakabuto ourselves and he'll regret what he did! Come on Akatora! We have some things we need to do." He says to his dog.

Akatora barks up to him happily. "Now the first stop his home!" He says to the dog.

The two rush back to their house, and grab a large cart, some rope, and Daisuke's snowmobile. He calls Akatora over to him after setting his snowmobile on the cart. Daisuke ties one end of the rope to the handle of the cart, and the other like a harness around Akatora. He then pulls the thing by getting behind the handle bar and pulling like a mule with a plow.

Soon, they were on a trail when Daisuke asked Akatora for a break. He whimpered up at him and they continued on.

They came to the hunting equipment shop where Daisuke's uncle was. Daisuke was willing to trade in his snowmobile for a new bow and arrows like Hidetoshi's. "What? That is not a toy, kid. That is a dangerous weapon." He says to him.

"Can I have it if I can pull it for you?" He asked his uncle. He smiled at him. A kid could not pull a bow. Since this was impossible to him, he accepted this challenge and bet. "Sure thing kid. If you can pull it." He says to Daisuke.

A few minutes later, Daisuke and Akatora, as well as a store owner were outside. "Watch closely." Daisuke says to his uncle. He grabs an arrow and sets it to the string to show him what he can do. He pulls the string back a little, and then a bit more, and then near all the way. "Wow! You really know what you are doing!" His uncle says to him.

Daisuke stretches the string back. "Stop! You're hurting your arm!" His uncle says to him. Daisuke doesn't listen. Then, he lets go of the string and the arrow is impaled in the tree.

His uncle watches surprised. Daisuke grabs the bow and arrow happily and dashed away, leaving his snowmobile. "So, a deal's deal, right? I win!" He says.

The two partners went into the mountains and stopped where they could take out their things.

"We have done it Akatora! We finally have our own bow and arrows!"

Now, the two felt confidence that they would get Akakabuto for Takeda and avenge Akatora's sister. They dashed into the woods and went to find Akakabuto. A few minutes later, they he heard barking noises, and growling coming from something huge. They ran over to the side of a small hill and looked down. There was a large back of dogs fighting a bear!

The dogs had taken down some prey, but the bear was so hungry and stupid that it went to get some as well and take away the dog's food. The dogs barked at it for a few minutes, and then a large tan Great Dane with a black marking on his face howled, and a group of them jumped on the bear. He howled again, and another group went on. After the third howl signal, all of the dogs jumped on the bear and brought it down, saving their food from the thief.

The two watched in awe. But then, Akatora ran down the hill and barked at them. "No! Stop Akatora! They'll kill you!" Daisuke yelled to his dog. Akatora did not stop. He kept going. Something was pulling him toward this pack of feral dogs. They watched him, a few growling, until a large loud howl sounded over the group. The dogs looked at where the sound came from and ran in that direction.

Akatora ran after them as well. "Ben, we have a follower! It's that pup!" A dog named Great said. "Ah, it doesn't matter. He'll get tired later. You need a lot of strength to keep up with our pack." He said to Great. "Ben! He's still following!" Another dog said. "I've got him!" A dog named Cross said to them. She turned back and charged right at Akatora! Cross head bashed him back and then turned to get to the other dogs.

Daisuke came down and grabbed his dog, and then the two left the dogs to themselves. "Those dogs sure looked intimidating. You could have been hurt!" Daisuke said to his dog. Akatora's mind was filled with the pictures of the dogs that he had just seen. And that howl must have been from their leader.

They got home later and Daisuke told his parents about the things he had done, everything except the dogs. They did not need to know that he had been in the mountain. He was not allowed up there.

Akatora was thinking about going back to that dog pack. They seemed mean to the humans, but to him as a dog, they were just a pack of lost dogs. That night he dashed out of the barn and went after them.

Moments later, Daisuke dashed into the barn where the dogs were kept. "Fuji. Have you seen Akatora?" He asked her. She whimpered in return. "Akatora's not here! Where could he be? He must have returned to the dogs!" He says to himself.


	10. Howl!

_**Ginga: Nagareboshi Akatora**_

_(Silver Fang: Meteor Red Tiger)* Perii= Perry, _"I" sounds like ee in meet, but shorter. "E" sounds like e in met.

Chapter Ten: Howl! The Mountain calls!

Akatora walked around the dark woods. It seemed to go on forever. "I hope Daisuke doesn't get too worried." Akatora said to himself. A rustling sound came from up on the trees. He looked up and an owl came down, just missing his head. He yelped in surprise. The owl stared back at him with big yellow eyes.

He then continued to walk along the way to the dogs. And then the growling started. His turned around and looked to something that may be there. The growling grew louder, but Akatora was not worried. Bearhounds do not get worried. A loud blast sounded and something threw itself at Akatora!

The two nearly collided, and the thing bounced off of right where he was standing and hid in the bushes. Akatora threw himself to the other side so he doesn't get hurt. He growled at the attacker.

"Aah, as quick as always, I see. Akatora." A voice came. The dog stepped out of the shadows. "Kurotora!" He said in amazement. The shepherd nodded his head. "What are you doing here?" Akatora asked his brother. "I followed your scent up here. You seemed to be looking for something." He said to him.

"I was." Akatora said to Kurotora. Just as he was about to speak again and tell his brother where he was going, he sensed something slinking in the shadows. He turned around. Kurotora snarled at it, sensing it too.

They were relieved to see that it was just their pet, Perry. "Oh, hi Perry." Akatora said to him. Kurotora stopped his growling. "Great senses, "Akatora". You've grown different since the last time that I've seen you." Perry said to them.

They were both surprised that they could talk to their pet, but being on a mission, Akatora kept walking along, asking the others to come with him. "Where are you going?" Kurotora asked. Akatora was about to answer but he saw the dogs in front of him. Kurotora and Perry came to see what was holding him up. "Stray dogs." Kurotora said. "I've seen them before. They were up on the mountain yesterday." Perry commented. The dogs were talking amongst each other, and sniffing out other things.

"Humph. Such a weak pack. I've already got plans for them." Kurotora told his comrades. "What are you going to do?" Akatora asked him. Perry nodded. "We have to make ourselves noticed." He replied, and got on top of a rock. Kurotora lifted his head and howled. The dogs looked up at him.

"What is he doing?" A dog asked. A few of them growled at him. Kurotora leaped off of the rock. "I'm going to take down their leader and take over the pack!" He calls to the other two.

"No! That's not a good approach! Kurotora!" Akatora called to his brother. He did not answer back to him though. He ran toward the pack, baring his fangs. "He wants to fight, eh?" The leader, Ben, said to himself. Kurotora leaped at him and bit his neck, but the dog didn't flinch. Instead, he laughed.

"Quit tickling me. If you want to fight, do it right!" He said to him, and swung his head around, throwing Kurotora off. He flipped through the air and landed perfectly. "Neat." He commented, and then looked back at the other two.

They had come down into the arena. Akatora and Perry looked around nervously as more dogs closed in around them.

A black and white dog came out. "Hey Ben! Who are there two?" He asked. Akatora turned to Kurotora. "We can't fight all these!" He said to him urgently. The dogs around tem began to laugh.

"You've got a lot of nerve, kid." A dog said down to Akatora. "Aren't you gonna test them out, Ben?" A dog, who Akatora noted as Great said. "Test…? What does he mean?" Akatora wondered aloud.

The dogs were silent at that time being. Ben turned to the large group that surrounded them. "None of your concern, you lot! Smith! Great! Get back to your posts! One second is all it takes for them to get in!" Ben yelled to the dogs.

Ben then turned toward the others. "We're looking for males, for a mission. But, only real males." Akatora looked up at Ben confused. "Males…?" He quietly asked himself. "Do I look like a girl to you? Fool. Don't mock me." Kurotora said, Perry nodded.

Kurotora growled at Ben, requesting a fight. "Heh, all of you don't interfere. I'm more than enough for him." He said to the group of dogs. "We understand, Ben." A dog behind him said.

Kurotora dashed over toward them, mad. "Don't speak so lightly of yourself! It'll be kinda hard when your throat is ripped open, weakling! Bring out your boss!" The other two that came with Kurotora watched as he charged toward Ben, teeth bared. "Let's go, kid!" Ben yelled back to him.

"Kurotora!" Akatora yelled back to his brother. Suddenly, something flew through the air and interrupted the fight. The others watched in fright. "What the hell?" Kurotora said.

They heard barking then. "It's Madara! What should we do, Ben?" The one named Smith yelled to them. "He ambushed us!" Great yelled back. "What?" Ben called over the loud roaring of Madara.

Trees fell over and crashed down with force. Dogs ran out from behind them, running away from something.

*GRR-RR!*

A large paw slammed down and shook the ground. The bear showed itself, and dashed out after the puny dogs that were scattering around.

*ROAA-RRR! GRRR-RRR!*

Madara continued his mad roaring. "It's Madara! ... This is because of before! Did he only get one of us?" Ben asked the other dogs. Cross jumped up and began to run toward the bear. "I'll return the favor!" She stormed. "Cross, wait! Have you forgotten the orders of the boss?"

Cross turned around and looked back at Ben skeptically. "B…But Ben, we can't let it go for nothing!" She yelled back to him. They began to run back to their camp. "I know, but we have to withdrawal for now. No more casualties! We can't afford to lose any more fighters!"

Akatora watched them as they ran. "They're so calm! These guys don't let anything get in the way of their goal!" He said to the two others near him. "They know that they can't take that on, so the obey their boss!" Akatora said in awe.

"Heh, I don't think so. They're just a bunch of dirty cowards! They can't even avenge a friend? What cowards." Kurotora said to his brother. "I'd have to agree with Kurotora on this one." Perry said to Akatora.

Akatora stared in horror as he watched Kurotora and Perry run toward the bear. Akatora ran in the direction that the dogs went in. "Akatora! Are you running off too?" Kurotora asked him as he stopped along with Perry.

"No! I want to see their boss!" Akatora called over his shoulder. The dogs came to a ledge then. They ran up to it and jumped right over. "What?" Akatora asked as the stopped short.

Cross turned around when at the other side. "Ben, they're following us!" she said to him. "What?" Ben asked her. "You have some bravery. If you can jump over this, I'll approve you as a fighter… And take you to meet the boss." He said to him.

Akatora back up and ran toward the edge of the cliff. "Fool! Don't do it, Akatora! Are you going to jump that thing?" Kurotora asked him worriedly. Perry looked back at him as well as Akatora ran toward the edge of the rock.

Akatora jumped over the side. He was so light that the wind had carried him over. Akatora soared over the rest of the dogs. "Aah! That fool! He jumped so high!" Ben commented.

"Well, you promised! Take me to your boss!" Akatora said to Ben.

Akatora went high into the sky, over the river below, and used the strong wind as he did so. Akatora's light body was helped along by the wind, and he went ten times further than the wild dogs had jumped.

"Amazing, kid. If nobody else had any objections, I'll approve of him as a fighter!" Ben said to Akatora.

Then, they heard a yelping from the other side.

*Yelp!*

Madara was attacking Kurotora and Perry. Kurotora flipped through the air after being smacked by Madara's claws. Perry then went to attack Madara, but he was thrown off as well. "Kurotora! Perii!*! "You can't fight him! Come over here!" Akatora called over to his companions.

They did not listen. They kept battling Madara. "We're not like you and that bunch, who run away from every enemy that they come across!" Kurotora yells back to his brother.

"I'm skilled at his sort of thing! I can kill him off!" Perii says to them. "What nonsense." Ben said to himself. "This is just one bear! He's nothing like those wild animals in Africa!" Kurotora said to himself. He leaped at Madara and he swatted him off.

"Ben, what do we do?" Cross asked him. "Well, it'd be a shame to see him die here. He's a fighter!" Ben said to her. At that same time, Akatora jumped across to the other two. "My name is Akatora, and please remember, you promised to let me meet your boss!" He called over his shoulder.

Akatora then came in and grabbed both Perii and Kurotora and pulled them both to safety. "Are you alright, Kurotora, Perii?" He asked them. " Know that you aren't thankful for my help, but I'm going to do it!" He yelled back to the other two. He jumped up at Madara and fought him.

"Let's go, you lot!" Ben yelled to the others. "They're real fighters, and we can't let them die here! Our goal is to find fighters of assist us!" Ben announced.

All of the dogs went after Madara at the same time. They all were fighting now. They chased Madara into the woods until Ben called them off. "Wait! That's enough! Don't chase him!" He yelled to his pack.

Akatora checked on his comrades, and then the two went on to the pack.

"Let's start things over. Comrades." Ben said to them. "I'm leader of the first platoon. Ben! Great, of the second! Smith, of the third!" Cross came up behind him. "Also known as Smith the womanizer!" She laughs.

"You idiot!" Smith yells, and runs at her. "Stop, I was just joking!" Cross says to him. All the rest laugh.

Then, they heard a howling coming from the boss. This time, the three others joined the pack in which they were now in. And to Akatora, something about that boss looked very recognizable.


	11. The Meeting Of The Two

_**Ginga: Nagareboshi Akatora**_

_(Silver Fang: Meteor Red Tiger)_

Chapter Eleven: The meeting of the two

The leaders of the platoons raced to get back before the howl of the leader ceased. The first to get back was the leader of the fifth platoon, Terry. The leader of the second platoon, Karasu. Luke, of the eleventh platoon.

The leader looked down on the platoons along with his second in command, Sniper, who was on a rock below him. Ben's, Great's, and Smith's platoons were the last to get there.

"This is bad… hurry!" Ben said to his group. "Akatora, Perii, are you gonna stand to be one of their followers?" Kurotora asked them. They did not answer that. "Well, I'm sorry, but I'm going to defeat their boss and take over this entire pack!" Kurotora said to the others.

A few minutes later, the absent platoons showed up. "Ah, that's their boss?" Akatora asked them. "That guy standing on the very top of the rock?" Perii asked.

"You're late! First, second, and third! Have you forgotten the laws? Platoon leaders, get up here!" Sniper yelled angrily to the leaders. "Ben! Great! Smith! Get the hell up here!" Sniper yelled.

Perii glared at him questionably. "What the…? That dark guy sure is throwing his weight around! He's standing up there in that area. Is he the boss' second in command?" Perii asked his companions.

He and Kurotora glanced over at Akatora. He was frozen in disbelief. "Akatora, what's wrong?" Perii asked him. "You're scared, aren't you? I'm in luck." Kurotora said to them.

Akatora was staring up at the leader in excitement. "Aah… It can't be! No… It really is! That boss is… My sister! Candace!"

Every dog around him gasped in shock at the words that came out of Akatora's mouth. All eyes were on Akatora, and they were all scared. The leader looked down at him smiling.

"What did you say?" Ben asked him surprised. Second in command Sniper was raging now. "What the hell? Who are those three? Who brought them here?"

Ben stepped forward. "I did, general. They proved themselves to be true warriors, and I initiated them." Ben said to them. Kurotora stepped forward and smiled at Sniper. Perii looked back at him like a warrior should. "Those two, the smiling type and the serious one are acceptable. But what're you doing initiating a kid into our pack, Ben?" Sniper yelled to Ben.

"General regardless of what you think, I saw them fighting as real soldiers." Ben said back to him.

Sniper growled at him. "Are you disagreeing with me? A puny platoon commander like you?"

The dogs were talking amongst each other now. "Well, well. Here the general goes again." One dog said annoyed. "Ben is growing more and more powerful each day. I bet the general is worried that he'll eventually replace him…" Another dog said to the first.

Then the leader spoke. "Sniper, that's enough. Ben also has a say in this." Riki then looked at the other three. "And that akitadog kid. He says amusing things. He called me "Sister." Riki said back calmly. "Sister..?" Akatora said back quietly to himself.

"I'm grateful, kid, and I accept you loyalty to me. It's the same for everyone else! All of you are my sibling, my comrades!"

"So that's what it was!" A dog in the crowd said. "I was shocked!"

Akatora's friends chatted with him a bit. "Heh, bad joke, Akatora." Perii said to him. "Trying to flatter the boss, are we?" Kurotora said.

"I wasn't trying to flatter her! She really is my sister! Buy why? What happened to my sister?"

Riki continued on. "You were late, and we have newcomers with us, so I'll repeat myself. Because of Akakabuto, we can no longer get into Futago Pass, so, I'm asking for all of your help. Already, we can't get anywhere near it, Akakabuto's stronghold is already too solid! In order to destroy his stronghold, we need to assemble our fighter! But, the amount that we have already gathered isn't enough for the task!

We've gathered everyone in the area, but it's still impossible to pull it off with the amount we've gathered so far. But the world is huge! The country has many more soldiers! I'm giving you more than three months! Gather fighters from all over the country!" Riki said his speech, and then began to sort out the groups.

"Platoons one through three!" Riki yelled to them. "Yes!" They called back. "You're going south!" He told them. "Platoons four through six are going north!" She called. "Yes!" They yelled.

"Platoons seven through nine, go west!" She called. "The rest, go east! Three months from now, under the full moon, we'll gather back here! You will depart tomorrow morning! Not one of you is to be late!

The next time that we meet, the all-out war against Akakabuto will begin!" Riki yelled to the troops.

A while later, while the rest of the dogs were asleep…

"Akatora, Perii, are you awake?" Kurotora asked them. "Yes." They said to him. "It's time for me to go." Kurotora said."

"Where to?" Perii asked him. "I'm going home to Hidetoshi. These guys actually think that they can achieve their goal? Fools. I'm not gonna stick around here longer than I need to be." Kurotora said to the two.

"Kurotora." Perii said. "Brother." Akatora spoke to Kurotora. Then, Perii became attentive. "Ssh! Someone's coming! Pretend to be asleep." Perii said.

Riki walked over to the "Sleeping" soldiers. She looked down at them. "This kid… called me Sister…?" She said to herself. "I don't understand. Why did this kid call be his sister?" She asked herself, looking at him. "I can't remember anything that happened before I became leader. But I haven't forgotten Akakabuto." After that, Riki walked away. Unknown to her, she was being watched. And by Sniper and his cowardly lieutenant, Hyena. "As you can see, lord Sniper, no doubt about it. The stuff the kid was babbling about earlier was true. If we don't do something, the boss might let the kid take her role as leader someday… and surely, all of the loyalty that lord Sniper and I acted toward the boss would be wasted, right?"

Nothing was talked about for a few more minutes. "You're quiet, lord Sniper." Hyena said to Sniper. "Nobody shall get in my way! The next boss is going to be me!" He said angrily to himself, and maybe Sniper.

"Ben! Wake up! I must talk to you!" Akatora said to Ben, who was asleep. Ben did not stir. "He's exhausted. He won't even flinch." Akatora said. "Akatora, Perii, let's hurry. Night's turning into morning!" Kurotora said.

They began to run to the entrance, but Akatora stopped. "I'm sorry, ben! I'll be back in the morning! Maybe with Perii!" Kurotora ran off. "I'll go on ahead!" He said to the other two. "I'll definitely be back, Ben! Wait for me!" Akatora calls over his shoulder. Kurotora laughs. "He can't hear you! He's asleep!"

After the two left, Ben raised his head. He began to go after them, but Cross stopped him. "Come on, Ben. You know the rules. Once you're in the pack, it's against the rules to leave. But this is fine. He's just going to say good-bye to his master. He'll be back, you heard him."

Ben looked back at the other two who were running up the hill. "Cross, your pups would be this age now, wouldn't they?" Ben asked her. Cross snarled and glared hard. "You promised not to bring that up!" She said to him angrily.

Ben ducked his head. "Oops! I guess I forgot." He said to her. "You must never bring that up again!" Cross snarled at him. Ben ducked his head even lower and put a paw over his head. "Oooh, scary." He said.

Smith behind him began to laugh. "You lost that match to her, Ben." Smith said. The other dogs began laughing. "If you start a fight with Cross, it'd be bad luck for you at mealtime." Great joked.

Cross was the best bird hunter there was out of the pack. Of all the dogs that were there, most of them were hunting dogs, and they all had their own reasons to leave their own masters, and go with the pack.

Cross was abandoned with the rest of the dogs. She was the only one surviving. She had had her puppies, ones like Akatora, and her master told her to go on a hunt with him and a few other dogs.

Since they were bird hunters, they used bird dogs, but what they found, wasn't a bird. It was Akakabuto. The bear attacked them and near all of the dogs were hurt. "Cross! Help me!" Her master called to her. She ran in front of the bear and warded it off, but she was wounded in the process.

She turned and saw all of her comrades had expired at that time, and then turned to her master. But to her horror, he had ditched the wounded dogs and ran to save his own life.

Cross was the only one who survived. A few minutes later, she joined in with the laughing and all of the dogs eventually went to sleep.

Meanwhile, the dogs were heading toward the town. In fact, they were already there. They were talking amongst themselves. "They're crazy. Dog power can't even get close to the power of a gun." Kurotora said. "You're wrong. These guys really can take down that bear." Akatora said to him. "Heh." Kurotora said back.

"Kurotora! You'll have to go on without me!" Akatora said to him. "Huh?" He asked him. "I'm staying with the dogs." Akatora said. Kurotora stared at him for a moment, but then went back to the town. "And one thing, Akatora. By the time you get back, we would've already taken down Akakabuto."

Kurotora said to his brother. Akatora stared as he watched Kurotora dart down the street. And then he began running as well. He had his own destination in mind.

Soon he got to a big building that he knew so well. Akatora rushed to the back, but came to a halt when he came in. Daisuke was sleeping on the floor, waiting for him. "Daisuke." Akatora whispered to himself. "Akatora." He murmured in his sleep. "Akatora." Came a voice. He looked to his left. Fuji was sitting there by Hiya-n and Giyan. "Fuji." Akatora said. She watched him. "Fuji, I… I'm going to go away." He said. Fuji slightly puffed a bit of air. He walked toward the door. "Please… please take care of Daisuke when I'm gone!" he then darted away, howling mournfully.

Later, he got to the pack, just as Riki was beginning to send out the troops. Perii was already there. He gestured Akatora to his group, which was with Ben, Smith, Great, and Cross. He got in the group and then they were sent out. Each one of them had the same intention in their hearts, and each had a reason to go.

Thoughts clouded Akatora's mind at fist. Things like Daisuke, Fuji, Hiya-n and Giyan. Takeda. But these things were drowned out with expectation from the leader, as well as himself.


	12. The Herd Moves On

_**Ginga: Nagareboshi Akatora**_

_(Silver Fang: Meteor Red Tiger)_

Chapter Twelve: The Herd Moves On

Under Ben's lead, platoons one through three ran night and day. Heading south. Ben ordered them to avoid everything until they got to the mountains. He wanted to find strong fighters there.

Much later, when the dogs were resting…

"Cross and Akatora are late." A white dog said to a brown one. "I hope I get to eat today!" He aid to the dog. "No doubt about it, Cross and Akatora will catch a meal for us." The brown said to the white. "Cross had better get us a feast of bird meat." The white dog said back, licking his lips.

"Cross is a trained hunting dog, so it's alright. Akatora is still a kid, though. I bet he can't do it." The brown dog said. "Hey, hey! You're worrying too much. You're making the bugs in my stomach growl!" The white said.

Cross snuck through the felid after something. She was licking her lips in happiness. A grouse was nearby. "Aah!" She yelled and leaped after the bird. It heard her and began to take off.

It flew out of her reach, and she ran after it. "Aah, our lunch is escaping!" She said.

Just then, Akatora leaped up and bit the bird at a great aiming mark. Cross was very surprised. Akatora brought the bird to her and she skidded to a halt. "Akatora! You!" She began. "Great job!" She said to him.

"You just have to look at where the bird was going, and it's easy!" He said to her. "You're trying to teach me about this? Don't flatter yourself!" Cross said to him. "And don't forget that rabbit!"

"Alright, let's get back and feed those hungry jerks!" Cross called over her shoulder to Akatora. "Don't speak ill of them, Cross!" He said to her. "Don't forget that rabbit!" was all she said back. "His leg power is something else. Maybe he wasn't lying when he said that he was the boss's brother." Cross thought.

Later, at the group, Hyena was walking up to Ben. "Ben, aren't we supposed to be looking for fighters?" He asked him. "Yes, why?" Ben answered. "Then, why are we running in the mountains where there's nobody?" Hyena asked him.

"Those from the second and third platoon are wondering the same thing. Are there even dogs out here?" Hyena asked him. "Don't, Hyena. Don't bother Ben! The poor guy's been running for ten days, don't make him stand up!" Great protested.

"Shut up! I'm serious! If you don't start explaining what's going on, we'll run down to the city!" Hyena said to Great.

"I understand. I'll explain. Follow me." Ben said, and all of the dogs followed him.

At Futago…

"Come on! I'm serious! I really did see it!" Blue said to Toshi. "Yeah, sure you did." Toshi told her.

Right now, Blue (Check on when they were sending in helicopters for Takeda and Riki.) was leading Toshiaki to where she saw this weird thing that wasn't in Futago.

Blue had her by the arm and was leading her to a shed where she saw Akatora's and Kurotora's invention. Toshi did not believe her. Blue did not give up, though.

"Here it is!" Blue announced to Toshi. Her eyes went wide. "What is it?" She asked. "I don't know, I just found it here." Blue said to her. They just stood there for a moment in the doorway, but then Blue ran forward to check it out. "Let's see what it can do!" She said to her friend.

"Oh, no. Let's not and say we did." Toshi said to her. "That won't be any fun, Toshi. Like you." Blue said to her, and ran up to the machine. "I think that I should stand up here." She said, getting on the glass stand.

"Come on, I don't want to do this by myself!" Blue called to her. Toshi shuffled her feet for a moment before being yanked up by Blue. "And then," she looked at the two buttons for a moment, before deciding, "Green means go!"

Blue called out, and then she reached for the button. "No! Don't! Toshi yelled back to her. Blue stopped before she could do anything. "What now?" Blue asked her. "You don't know what this thing could do! It could kill us!" Toshi warned her.

These people were very simple in that town, so they didn't experience things like this very often. But, Blue being Blue, she decided to see herself. "We'll be fine, why else would it be hidden in a very safe place where nobody can find it and nobody should or else their lives will be in danger." Blue explained in that long sentence.

Toshi just stared and Blue jammed her hand on the button. Toshi whimpered as a blue come of light enveloped them. "Weee!" Blue said. Toshi yelped in surprise.

Soon after, only a blue colored German shepherd and an Irish setter stood there.

"Neat!" Blue said to Toshi. Toshi was very scared right now. "Change us back! Do it now!" She yelled to Blue. "I don't know how."

Then, Blue caught something that smelled like another dog had been there. That scent was Riki's. "Hey! Somebody else had done the same thing we did! How about we follow this scent trail and see if we can get advice of how to change back."

Toshi eagerly followed. She did not want to waste a chance to get back to her normal self. So, the two dogs set off on their journey toward Ohu.


	13. Demon Dog!

_**Ginga: Nagareboshi Akatora**_

_(Silver Fang: Meteor Red Tiger)_

Chapter Thirteen: Demon Dog! The Three brothers of Kai!

"Aah! It's a city! This close?" A dog asked Ben. "This is Kofu city, of Yamanashi." Ben said to his pack of dogs. "I was born here."

"We could go down in the city and search for dogs… I would know, because I was born here."

"You already said that!" A dog yelled to him. Ben did not bother with that guy. "But, there's something that we must do first… in these mountains." Ben said. Hyena was against that.

"What?" He asked Ben. "Hey! We were looking for you!" Cross and Akatora yelled to them as they appeared. "What're you doing here?" Cross asked them as she set the bird Akatora had caught on the ground.

"Aah! A bird! It's been a while since I had bird meat!" A dog barked as he ran up to Cross and aimed at the bird. "Fool! The leader eats first!" Cross snapped at him, holding him back.

After the leader dug in, the rest did. "Jeez, those who do the least work are the most gluttonous!" Cross scowled.

"This is though… it's take a while!" One of the dogs said. "No more difficult than eating a lizard. He he, I bet you couldn't even drink with that tongue!" A hound said.

"Cross, I love you! He he!" A dog played with her. "Jeez, that's enough of that talk!" Cross scolded.

"Ben, aren't you going to finish explaining?" Hyena asked.

"Hm?" Ben asked him. "You act like you've waited three years. In these mountains, are the three demon- dog brothers of Kai.

"What? Demon dogs of Kai?" Cross asked him.

"In these mountains? What kind of guys are they?" Great asked Ben.

"You'll know soon enough." Ben said. Hyena stared at Ben. "No, you'll know now." Ben said then.

Just then, a wild boar burst through the bushes and interrupted the dog meeting.

"What the hell?" A surprised dog asked. "Look out! Get away!"

All of the dogs scattered away from the huge boar. Akatora leaped in front of it though. "Akatora, Watch out! Run!" A dog yelled to him.

*GUA-AAA!*

Akatora ran at the thing and propelled himself off of the thing's head.

"Akatora!" Ben yelled to him.

He seemed to be very dizzy.

And then three dogs ran after the boar. They must have been the three Kai dogs.

"The red one was snarling at the boar, and the one to chase after it. He was close behind it in seconds. Then, two other dogs appeared, the first one being red, the other two a mix of red and black, and the other black.

The red one bit the animal's foreleg, while the other two bit its head.

"That's them. They're the three brothers of Kai." Ben said to the pack of dogs.

"Four years ago, as puppies, they were abandoned in these mountains. The oldest is called Aka Okami, (Red wolf).

A/N- He is called Aka mostly.

The second was called Chuo Okami (middle wolf).

The third, being called Ao Okami. (Blue wolf)."

"What a bunch of guys. They know we're right here and they don't say a thing!" Akatora thought.

"When they were abandoned, those three were lucky to have violent Kai-dog blood inside of them. So, they knew the art of surviving my nature."

The dogs looked up at Ben.

"First, a slow enemy came at them. It was a snake." Ben told his dogs.

"But the three of them did not run. The reversed the situation, killed it and ate it, to live." The dogs were looking at the three Kais now, and they were staring back at them.

"No enemy had a chance against their triple power." Ben told them.

"However big the enemy, when the three of them worked as one, they brought it down. Since the time that they were born, to those three, "to live" is the same as "to fight."

Akatora stared at the three suspiciously. The kai dogs were laughing.

"I don't know why you're blabbering about our past." Chuo said to them.

"Jeez, what sloppy eaters! They really are wild mutts!" Smith said to his pack.

One of the dogs ran up to Smith and attacked him, knocking him over to Ben.

"You idiot! Why'd you have to do that?" Ben asked Smith sternly. "It wasn't like that, Ben! Dammit!"

"Don't think that you can get off that easy!" Cross challenged. Ben grabbed her tail and held her back.

"Don't! What're you doing? Don't Cross!" He yelled to her through a mouthful of her tail. "I'll kill you!" Cross yelled to them.

"There's no rush to start the killing." Aka said to them. "Just wait, and after we're finished with our meal, we'll kill all of you!" Ao Said to them.

Akatora stared at them and watched silent.

"Ben, aren't you going to do something?" Cross asked him. "Yeah." Ben answered her.

"As allies, these guys would be powerful as a hundred fighters." Ben said. "And for that, without fail I'm willing to risk my own life." He told his pack.

"Ben!" Akatora said to him, surprised at what Ben would do to get these guys on their team.

"It's useless to simply talk to them, power is the only way to win them over!" Ben told his clan bravely.

The three dogs get up and face them. "Heh… you're a big guy. I'm going to assume you're the leader. You weren't talking crap when you spoke about us, but I've never seen you before. What's your name?" Aka, the leader of the dog trio asked Ben.

"I'm Ben." He said. For a moment, Aka was stalled, as If something went off in his mind.

"Ben…? Where have I heard that before?" Aka asked himself.

"You know of me, I'm glad. I too was born in this area." Ben told them.

"Oh! Maybe we don't need to fight after all. You seem reasonable. Why did you come here if you don't intend to kill us?" Aka asked Ben, the other two wondering the same thing.

"I want you three, to join my pack." Ben said to them.

"What?" Chuo asked him.

"Ben!" Cross told him, a bit nervous with the situation. "Nobody is to interfere. I must do this alone." Ben told his pack.

"Are you serious?" Aka told him sternly. "You don't know what you're up against! Don't hold back! All of you! Come on!" Aka called to him comrades.

"I'm enough for you!" Ben called back to them.

His pack watched in horror was Ben was being chewed up by the three brothers!

The dogs fought Ben, while the other two just watched. He told them not to do anything.

"Akatora! Come on! Let's help him!" Cross called to Akatora.

"Now it's three on three!" Cross yelled to them.

Akatora fought with Ao, which was his first fight with anybody in a long time. "My fight is with a kid? As expected from a Kohaku. Even if you're a kid, you've got nerve!" Ao said to him.

"I'm not a kid! My name is Akatora!" He yelled to Ao. "To think of me as the same as every other Kohaku is narrow minded!" He yelled to Ao.

"Don't talk big, brat!" He yelled to him, charging at Akatora. "I'm not a brat! I'm Akatora! Akatora the Kohaku bearhound!" He yelled to Ao, while charging him as well.

He ran at Ao and bounced off of Ao's head and threw him back a little, and he himself was pitched into the trees.

Ao glared at him and chased after him and away.

Meanwhile, Cross was fighting Chuo, and he was not liking that fight.

"Let's go, Aka!" He yelled to his opponent. "How does he know my name?" Aka asked himself. Then he fully remembered the thing that he tried to earlier.

"Chuo! Ao! Stop it! Stop this fighting!" He called to the two other dogs.

"We can't fight him! He's the one that saved our lives!" Aka announced. "We'll talk later, where's Ao?" Aka asked his group and Ben's pack.

"Akatora! Akatora's not here either!" Cross said, looking around her. "They ran into the forest!"

A dog said. "I can't let any subordinate of the one who saved my life die!" Aka said as they ran into the forest.

"Why did he lure me out here? Where did that dog go off to?" Ao was asking himself. "He really is a brat. It seems he ran away in fear." Ao said to himself.

He did not realize that Akatora was up in the trees, waiting for the right moment to strike. "Hey! Ao! I'm up here!" Akatora yelled down to him.

The dog looked up to see Akatora hurtling at him. Akatora grabbed the Kai dog and threw both of them into the water and held them there. The hard training that Akatora had endured was paying off.

But, Ao couldn't breathe underwater and he sucked in water instead of air.

Ben and Aka and the group then came. "Where are they?" Aka asked. "Look!" Ben said, looking at the water. He could tell that was where Akatora and Ao were.

They blasted out of the water then, Akatora dragging Ao in his mouth. "Speak to me, brother!" Aka and Shuo said to Ao. "It's alright, he just swallowed a bit of water." Akatora said, and Ao threw up a ton of water and went after Akatora again, before Aka called them off.

"Don't you realize it? This is Ben! The one who saved our lives!" Aka announced. "Ben?" He asked, remembering.

After a bit of conversation, the three Kai's joined their pack and they continued on their journey, but now in search of a much bigger boss dog called Moss.

A/N: Sorry for the lousy performance, but I am working of three of these at once, so I have to do that. So, the next chapter will be up in a while.


	14. Moss of Kasumi Dake

_**Ginga: Nagareboshi Akatora**_

_(Silver Fang: Meteor Red Tiger)_

Chapter fourteen: Moss, The Chief of Kasumi Dake

"I'll kill him seven times over!" A dog shouted. "Unskilled weaklings… he won't go home alive!" Another shouted. They were all making comments about hyena, which was right in front of Moss, The Chief of Kasumi Dake.

All of the dogs enclosed around Hyena and he yelped frightened.

"Were you the one calling for me? What do you want?" Asked a giant dog, who he suspected to be Moss.

"W…waits! I didn't come here to fight! Let me talk!" Hyena said worriedly to the dogs. I wouldn't go against the Chief of Kasumi Dake! I'm no fool!" He said to the crowd of dogs.

From above, another form watched them. It was a Doberman and a very recognizable one as well. It was Sniper."Hehehe… do it well, Hyena. I will accomplish my goal. First, I have to get rid of Ben and Akatora!

Later, at the town…

"Well, Hidetoshi. What do you plan on doing now?" A man asked him. "I trust things here to you. Don't take your eyes off him." The man nodded to him. "I won't." He said to reassure him.

Daisuke came up to them then.

Kurotora stared up at him. Daisuke patted the dog. "You're still looking, for Akatora?" Hidetoshi asked.

"Yes." He said to him in a reply. "He's nowhere. I can't find him anywhere." He told Hidetoshi.

"I understand how you feel, but I think that you should give up. Akatora is probably dead by now." He told Daisuke.

"Don't go blabbering on that Akatora is dead, doctor! Akatora's not one to get himself killed!" He turned to the dog.

"Kurotora, you don't know, do you? Do you know what happened to Akatora?" He got no response. "Daisuke, I know that it's hard. While I'm gone, please look after Kurotora for me." He told him, and then left.

"If Akatora were still alive, he would have joined those wild dogs." He told him.

"Wait a moment… it has to be!" He said to himself, and dashed away.

Kurotora was left there thinking. He went inside of his dog house to lie down. "What a mess. His master has been looking for him for over a month. Is he ever going to give up?" Kurotora asked himself.

"He's gone. On foot, too." He thought about his brother for a moment. "I wonder what he's doing now." He told himself. Then, he got an idea.

"Wait for me!" He yelled out in the distance, and snapped his leash off, and took off into the rain. "Did that brat go into the mountains?" He asked himself.

"What? It that true?" Moss asked Hyena, who had just told him something that threatened his pack. "Ben and the brothers of Kai are planning to ambush us?!" He said to him, not believing it for a moment.

"Yes." Hyena told him plainly.

"At last, it's only drizzling." Ben told his group. During the rain, they were hiding in a cave, to not get wet more that wanted.

"It's about time we set off." He told them.

"Alright, let's go then. For four years we've been arguing with Moss, and today it will end!" Aka announced to the group. "Wait, Ben! Hyena hasn't come back yet!" Akatora told him urgently.

"Aah, you're right." Ben told him. "That idiot." Cross said to him. "It can't be helped. We'll have to wait a little longer." Aka told Ben.

"We shouldn't have to worry about him."

"Isn't looking after subordinates your duty, Smith? All you're doing is thinking about yourself!" Cross scolded him.

"Jeez, such dirty words for a woman. No wonder Ben loves you, Cross!" He told her.

Cross chased after him angrily. "Stop talking Crap!" She snarled at him.

"Aah! I'll look for Hyena a bit!" He told her, sprinting away.

"Wait! Smith! I'll come too!" Akatora called after him, running out into the mist. "Alright, follow me!" Smith told him.

"I should return to my pack before I get into trouble." Hyena told Moss. They stared as Hyena dashed away from them.

"I didn't like the look in that one's eyes. Jaguar, what do you think?" He asked another dog, who was his son.

"Those three Kai kids… even if they have comrades, why would they wait until now to do it? Even if we went into their territory before, they're not the type to do something like that!" Jaguar told him.

"That's right. I thought those Kai brothers were too stuck up for company. No… on the other hand, they could have planned to do it to get what they want."  
He told his pack.

"But we don't know, Boss. Those three kids and the pack that that Ben guy leads… we don't know what their intentions really are." Jaguar told his father.

"I can't let this go on. I'll kill them all!" Moss announced to the large group. "Yes! Let's do it, Boss!" They called to him.

"Jaguar, Lloyd, run to where they are!" Moss ordered them. "Go talk to Ben, and those Kai mutts. Don't try to be clever and attack them, keep your selves well in-view." He instructed.

"At sunset, we'll be waiting on the six-tree ridge. Don't waste your lives; come back as soon as you've found out what we need to know!" He yelled back to his two dogs.

The two dogs tore off into the mist and Moss turned back to his dog pack. "Bad luck, Kais. After this, you'll all be sorry that you ever thought of defeating me." He told himself.

"That fool. How far out did he go? We've already entered Moss's territory.

Akatora then heard something in the distance. "Smith, someone's coming!" He told him urgently. "Could it be Hyena, Akatora?" Smith asked him. "No! It's not just one… I can hear two or three different footsteps!" He told him.

They jumped behind a rock pile and hoped that they wouldn't be seen by the dogs that were coming by them.

"They could be Moss's followers." Smith thought.

The two of Moss's dogs jumped out around the bend and left as quickly as they came. "That's not Hyena." Akatora told Smith. "They were Moss's followers! I wonder where they are going." Smith told himself.

"And so, that's why we're here." The two of Moss's dogs told Ben and his group.

"I understand. But, let me say one thing. This ambush you're speaking of… Say this to Moss. I'm not going to take him lightly. I know his physical strength." Ben told the two dogs.

"Ben's a guy who speaks the real truth. He doesn't hide what he thinks." Aka told the two dogs.

"You three are following him?!" A dog asked Aka, very surprised.

"Hehe, that's right. Just like you said." Aka told him. "We'll serve Ben until we've given all we've got." Aka told Ben and the other dogs.

"We won't forget that! Just don't spark the Boss's anger!" The dogs yelled back to them, and then they were off into the mist again.

"Hey! Akatora! Let's go back! I can't smell those guys anymore. And, we're at danger by being in this territory!" Smith told Akatora.

"Ah! Smith! Danger!" Akatora told him suddenly. They hid behind the rocks again.

"I someone coming, again?" Smith asked him. "Akatora… you're a responsible one, always trying to help! I didn't know that dogs had ears like that!" Smith told him. "Ssh!" Akatora shushed Smith as he looked down at the path.

This time, Hyena came around the bend. "Aah! It's Hyena!" Smith told Akatora angrily.

He was going to run out to Hyena but Akatora held him back. "What's he doing? Why is he sneaking around behind that rock?" Akatora asked Smith.

"Akatora! There!" Smith said to him. "Yes!" Akatora told him back. "Moss's followers from last time! What's Hyena planning?" Akatora asked him again.

They jumped over Hyena, and didn't notice him there, until one dog turned around. "Huh?" He asked Jaguar. "What the…You're still following us?" Jaguar asked Hyena.

"Go back to your pack! We won't allow you to stick around here!" Lloyd said. "Heh. Gonna kill me? It's you who'll be killed." Hyena told them.

"What?!" Jaguar asked him. "Fool! Is he on our side?! And now, Hyena has made a huge problem for us! Ben's plan will fail!" Smith told Akatora.

"Ben doesn't want to fight! He wanted to take care of this by talking!" Akatora told himself.

Hyena attacked Jaguar then.

"What're you doing?! What do you wasn't?!" He asked him irritant. "Lord Sniper, take care of the other one!" He told some dog.

A large black shape then flew through the air and attacked Lloyd.

"What the hell?!" Akatora and Smith said in unison. "Sniper killed Lloyd in one blow.

"It's Sniper! The general!" Smith told Akatora. "Why is Sniper here?!" Akatora asked him.


	15. Confronting

Chapter fifteen: Confronting The Traitor

Lloyd was knocked over and killed in one blow by Sniper and Hyena.

"What're you doing?!" Jaguar asked Sniper urgently.

"The General will kill him! What should we do, Smith?!" Akatora asked him. "You're asking me?! We can't interfere with anything the general does!" Smith told him.

"Who're you?! Ben's followers?!" Jaguar asked Sniper, choking by the hold that Hyena had on him.

Sniper flicked his tongue around. "Haha… I am Ben's follower, you ask? How hilarious. I rank above him! Got that?" He barked to Jaguar.

The Tosa dog was surprised. "What?! You're Ben's officer?!"

Sniper cackled. "I rank above him by far!" He howled back to Jaguar.

"Lord Sniper! Hurry… Hurry up and kill him!" Hyena barked to his master.

Jaguar glared at Hyena and then at Sniper. "I'm Jaguar, son of Moss of Kasumi Dake! It'll take a lot more than that to kill me!" The Tosa dog snarled to Sniper and his minion.

Sniper ran at Jaguar with his fangs bared. "You're too much of a kid to be threatening me! My plan will go through perfectly, all you have to do is die!"

The Doberman ran at Jaguar and was about to bite him, when a deep blue blur came out from behind the rock.

It bounced off of Sniper, but was hit by Sniper's massive paw.

Of course, the attacker was Perii, and he was trying to save Jaguar from a terrible fate.

Perii got up and snarled at Sniper, which was something that he learned from the dogs. His kind did not growl, but he had been taught to by Kuro-okami. (Yes, I changed the names)

Sniper snarled back at this warrior. When your opponent shows its teeth, you can't back out of the fight.

Both charged at each other, and Perii the spotted Akatora, as well as Smith. He knew to keep quiet at this, but as he was thinking he was pinned down by Sniper and bitten by him, wounding Perii.

Akatora, seeing his former pet get hurt made him go into a haze of hate for Sniper. He would regret hurting Perii. Sniper then turned to Jaguar and bit into his throat, the Tosa yelling out into the night. All of this was too much for Akatora, and he went down and attacked the general.

He was flung away, and at the site of this, Perii got the strength to get up.

Just as Sniper was about to finish off Jaguar, Perii worked one of his attack moves that he knew, and used it on Sniper.

He leaped into the air and grabbed Sniper's ears, and pulled him back, hauling his away from Jaguar, and attacking him there.

Akatora rushed down from the hill to help him, and Smith came down as well. Jaguar got up weakly and left, to go tell Ben about what he had heard.

Smith then snatched Akatora up and ran away from Sniper and Hyena.

"Don't do that again, kid! You have to watch out! That was general Sniper!" Smith informed him. Sniper and Hyena chased to two until they came to a drop-off, in which Smith failed to stop at, and the two plummeted down into the valley below.

The other two dogs presumed that the two were dead, so they left. Perii went with Jaguar back to Ben.

The two were thought to be dead but they really survived. Akatora drifted down the rived, dazed from the fall, and then spotted Smith. "Smith!" He called to the dog.

Smith opened his eyes and looked around, and spotted Akatora, who was swimming toward him. "Akatora… don't bother saving me… I think that I broke a leg during the fall." He told him.

"No!" Akatora told him strictly. "I won't let you go… you saved me!" He told him.

Smith stared pleadingly at Akatora. "Anyone in the pack would have done that! Now let go on me! I don't want you to die!" He told him.

Instead to letting him go, Akatora tightened his hold and told him that he would not let him go. "It's what anyone in the pack would do!" And the two were carried off of a waterfall.

Sorry for the short chapter, I got bored. Very bored.


	16. Battle At 6 Tree Ridge

Ginga: Nagareboshi Akatora (The Conclusion) Maybe a few typos.

Back In The Ohu Mountains...

Heat lighting flared across the sky during the storm, sending thunder booming and buckets of rain felling on the two dogs below.

Both of them were a good 20 feet away from each other, both in fighting stances.

It had happened. Kurotora had caught up to the leader of Ohu- his step sister. They were going to fight each other, and based on Riki's deep, bloody wounds, Kurotora would have the upper hand.

Kurotora was fighting Riki to defeat her and become the leader of Ohu, and stop this crazy idea.

Through the deep rain, Riki began to speak.

"I'm ready to fight anytime, Kurotora. Come on." She told him, her expression relaxed yet ready, her voice soft and knowing. Her words brought stinging tears to Kurotora's eyes.

'She did not recognize me. She would have said, "Brother", but she said Hidetoshi's name to me: Kurotora the Black Tiger.' Kurotora thought, but quickly it and the pain was drowned by anger. Anger toward Riki for her betrayal.

"As you wish!" He howled out into the storm, and both dogs charged each other.

Just at that moment, both Riki and Kurotora shot up into the air and collided, sparks of the bright lighting blowing up and showering them. Riki flew threw the air like a bullet, yet it was different with Kurotora.

He fell to the ground like a rock.

Both landed one paw first, and Kurotora quickly readied himself for another attack, but wavered. He was shocked.

"I...! Wh...What?!" He asked himself as he grew dizzy and began to fall.

'Since when did she know how to do that?! I didn't even feel her fangs hit me!'

A large wound blew up at Kurotora's right shoulder, and he fell to the ground.

"Amazing...I've lost. Go on, do as you will to me." Kurotora told his sister, who towered over him at the moment.

"Don't speak so strongly, as if a fighter's life has just been abandoned." Riki spoke to him, Kurotora looking up and listening.

"Just like your master seems to have abandoned you. If you act recklessly now, you will regret it." Riki told him.

Her words struck Kurotora like a thousand knives, each plunging deep into his sould and cleansing it from the inside out. It began to glow with purity as he took in each of Riki's words.

"Kurotora, make a promise to me. That you'll keep alive for me!" Riki humbly told of him, and all Kurotora could to was gaze in wonder, thinking about the clan, the bear, and his new leader.

He then realized that she was not longer his sister, the one he had spent many happy days with, the one who was truly a great sibling, but the commander, no, respected leader of a large army that would take down a demon bear. His army. His leader. Riki.

'Is she serious? Does she thing that us dogs alone are capable? Does she think we can bring down Akakabuto?

Moss Territory...

Sniper and Hyena stood over the dead body of Lloyd, marveling at their work when Sniper's ears perked up at a faint sound.

"Someone's coming! Hide yourself, Hyena!" The two dogs wisely ran into the bushes a small distance away from the pack that was headed toward them. That pack being Ben's pack.

"Uah! This is Moss' follower from before! He was with Jaguar!" A voice belted out into the forest surroundings and to his leader.

Ben stared down at the dead body, in wonder and in shock, "This one's also had his throat torn open.. who did this?" He asked Cross, who was standing beside him.

Aka walked up to Ben with a grave expression and dark words.

"Ben... could Smith and Gin have done it?" He asked, putting two and two together in his head.

Ben stared up at Aka for a moment.

"You have to think about it... this is Kasumi Dake, and if an enemy attacked them...!" Ben said.

A black and white dog from the crowd spoke to another dog.

"Smith could have gotten pissed off..." He began. A brown dog from the pack built up on the other one's idea.

"If he was angry, he could have done it..." The dog guessed.

Cross turned over to Ben to giver him her opinion.

"But Ben, Akatora's not that kind of a kid!" She protested to Ben.

"We can't be sure that it was Akatora." Ben told her, yet his eyes were still trained on the dead body on the ground.

Ben licked his muzzle and began to speak to his pack.

"Regardless of what's happened, now we won't be able to solve things by talking. We've left that option long behind. All we're left with is an all out war with Moss," Ben told his pack, prepping them for the fight that was ahead of them.

The Kais stepped forward and began to talk with their leader.

"Heh... as you wish Ben. It seems that it was really our fate to fight them." Kuro told Ben, who nodded in his direction.

The other Kai brothers had their tails held high like flags, the flags of the dogs of Ohu.

Ben began to direct his pack toward Moss den, where the war will take place.

"Let's go, everyone! We have to show Moss that we're made of! If he is what he's said to be like, we'll need him in out numbers when we throw down Akakabuto!"

Ben's words travelled through the pack, which let out a big "Yes!"

But, there was some dog that was watching them, getting the last bit of Ben's declaration. He is one of Moss' followers.

As soon as the dogs left, he leapt down from the rocks he was standing on and ran toward the body of his comrade.

Both Sniper and Hyena were shocked to find that a spy was there.

The moment the dog got there, tears spilled out of his eyes and he began to shiver.

"How horrible! He must have been outnumbered! What a cowardly guy Ben must be!" The told himself, mourning over the loss of a pack member.

"Lloyd, your death was not in vain, Please rest peacefully... Moss will crush your murderer, without fail!" The other dog told him, and began to run back to Moss.

"It won't be long now! I'll hurry and tell the Boss!" The dog called over his shoulder, and with that, he was gone.

Sniper and Hyena began to step out of the bushes, Sniper filled with cold delight.

"Hehe... well, let's sit back and watch, shall we?" He asked Hyena, who stood behind him.

Meanwhile At A Large Waterfall

Thanks to a large branch, Akatora and Smith were saved.

Said branch was hanging from a ledge, and stretched out to the middle of the waterfall, the end on which Akatora had landed on.

Smith's forepaw was in his mouth, and Smith was dangling dangerously high up. Both were.

Smith began to speak to Akatora.

"I'm sorry, Akatora. I tied to save you and the situation reversed!" He called up to Akatora, who looked down at the dog.

When Akatora did not let go of his paw, Smith began to speak again.

"Haha... it's alright, Akatora. No matter how hard you try... my time has come!" Smith told him, ready to accept his death.

The words just made Akatora tighten his grip. He was not going to let a fellow comrade fall to his death!

At this, Smith began to speak again.

"Let me go, and save yourself! At this rate, we'll both go down to hell!" Smith called up to him.

Akatora stared down at the black and white dog with determination.

"Smith, don't say such foolish things! If I let you fall to the bottom, you really would get killed!" Akatora protested with worry in his voice.

Smith began to use more anger in his voice that concern.

"At this rate, if you don't stop caring about me, you won't live at all! I'm not kidding! I don't want to die with you!" Smith yelled to him.

Akatora was frozen in shock. None of his friends back at home, when he was a human, would have ever said that! The bravery in this guy was immense, and he couldn't just let a good dog like Smith kill himself.

"Never say die! Hold on a bit longer!" Akatora called down to him.

"Shut up! Let go of me! Don't you understand?!" Smith yelled angrily up at him.

Akatora began to desperately search for a place where he could save both Smith and him.

Soon, his searching eyes found a rock platform of which he could fling both him and Smith to safety!

'If I can get him onto that rock...' Akatora thought.

He began to swing Smith back and forth, Smith becoming irritated.

"Hey, Akatora! What're you doing?! Let me go!" He yelled frantically up at him.

"Now i'll let you go! I don't intend for us to die together!" Akatora yelled to Smith as he flung him toward the rock that he aimed for.

Smith hit the rock a bit dazed, but then looked back up at Akatora, who was standing on the branch, his eyes closed in an expression of pride, his small tongue licking his muzzle.

"Aaa! Huh?! Y-you saved me!" Smith calls back up to Akatora.

Akatora leaped down from the branch and onto the rock himself, landing on his paws and putting on a spin for effect.

Just as he landed, Smith grabbed his ear and tugged on it a bit.

"You fool... C'mere!" Smith told him playfully.

"Aah...ouch!" Akatora yipped.

"Akatora, thank you. You're not one of those Kai kids, but... for your life, i'm willing to risk mine!" Smith told Akatora with a great amount of respect.

The two dogs leapt off of the rock and began to head back to Ben.

"This isn't the time to be fooling around. Akatora, we don't know how far we went." Smith informed him.

"You're right. At least 5 kilometers, I think!" Akatora told Smith, and they sprinted across the rocks back toward the pack.

Back At Moss' Territory...

The dog that had seen Lloyd dead was just getting back to Moss.

"Boss! They've done it now! Those three Kai kids!" He yelled to him and told Moss everything that he saw.

Moss was enraged by this news, and began to call out to his dogs angrily.

"Those filthy Kais! They don't know what they're getting themselves into! I'll massacre all of them! Everyone, ready yourselves!"


End file.
